I'm Sorry
by NeverTooOld
Summary: InuKag. MirSan. Kagome decides to teach Shippo 'good manners' and 'proper behavior', with some unexpected results. No major OOC. Just growing up and trying to do the right thing.
1. Chapter 1

I'm Sorry 

By

NeverTooOld

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Chapter 1 

The hot morning sun shown down on the four mis-matched walkers. As the seldom traveled path crested the latest hill, the tall figure dressed in red snarled "This is stupid!"

"Is there a problem, Inuyasha?" asked the young monk, Miroku, walking next to the demon exterminator, Sango.

"I don't like this, we're moving too slow! Is Kirara well enough to carry anyone yet?" he replied shortly.

"No, not yet." Sango answered, as she soothed and stroked the two-tail cat she carried in her arms. "She will need at least another full day to recover from her injuries.

"Feh," he snorted, "I'm going ahead to check out those woods." With that he dropped the large, yellow back pack to the ground and leapt down the hill to the edge of the dark forest and disappeared into the trees.

"Hey!" Exclaimed the oddly dressed young girl, "Don't just drop it like…that." She sighed to herself, "Oh, well. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, he hates waiting, and walking has always been far too slow for him." As she spoke she bent over, picked up the pack and settled it comfortably onto her slender shoulders.

"Lady Kagome!" The monk protested, "that's far too heavy for you. Allow me to take that burden from you. A beautiful, young lady such as yourself should never bear such as that."

"Stop it, Miroku," she laughed as she started back down the trail. "It's my pack to begin with and I'm just grateful Inuyasha carried it as long as he did. At least we managed to lighten it quite a bit over the last few days. I certainly don't begrudge him a chance to stretch out and run free."

With that, the small group continued on down to the forest waiting ahead for them.

"Kagome," chirped Shippo, "can we stop and have something to eat?"

"Not yet, dear. Let's wait a bit longer."

"Okay," grumbled the little kitsune, "but I hope we have some chocolate, too."

Kagome just laughed, "I don't know who has the worse sweet tooth, you or Inuyasha?"

As they traveled along the forest path, it really wasn't big enough to be called a road, Kagome's right foot began to throb and ache with every step. Finally, as they entered an open glade in the forest, Kagome spoke up.

"Sorry, guys. I think we should stop here for a break."

"What's wrong?" "Are you alright, Lady Kagome?" asked Sango and Miroku in unison.

"Nothing, I just think I've got a blister, that's all. I'll start lunch and then take a look at it."

With that, she shrugged off her large pack and began rummaging around inside. Handing Miroku a plastic pail, she sent him off to the nearby stream to get some fresh water.

"Here, Sango, could you please slice up this loaf of bread, I think I'll make some sandwiches for lunch."

"Sandwiches?" Asked the taijiya, "What are 'sandwiches'?"

"Hmm, let's see…I guess you could describe them as two slices of bread, about this thick," she said, holding her thumb and forefinger about half an inch apart, "with all sorts of things in between." She laughed softly, as she said "Today, I think it'll be…smoked sausage, cheese, and …ta da! Sliced cucumbers!"

Sango just shook her head as Kagome drew out a small knife and began quickly slicing the different items into very thin pieces.

"Where did you learn to use a dagger that well, Kagome? I don't think I've ever seen you use a dagger at all, to say nothing of so well!"

"What?" Kagome asked with a very confused look on her face. "What are you talking about?"

"The dagger," she said, pointing at the small blade that Kagome had not stopped using as she talked to her friend. "Seriously Kagome, I've been using edged weapons since I could walk, and I can't use a dagger that well."

"She's right, you know," said the young monk as he set the bucket of water down next to Kagome. "Your skill is truly exceptional. Who was your weapons master?"

"Weapons master?" She repeated blankly. "Uh…umm…well, my mom I guess… I mean, she's the one who taught me how to cook. I mean, come on guys, it's just, umm, cooking, you know," she said with a faint blush appearing as her friends regarded her with amazement and amusement.

"Just cooking, she says," said Sango with a sidelong glance at Miroku.

"Just …cooking," he replied, trying to keep a large grin from appearing on his face. "I've known a lot of cooks, but I have never seen any of them slice food so quickly and evenly." With the monk's words, Kagome's blush deepened until she finally shook her head and said "Alright, enough teasing the cook, lets just finish making lunch." As she bent back over her work of preparing sandwiches for everyone, she missed the look of curiosity and amusement exchanged between the monk and the taijiya.

Taking out her small camp stove, she started it and placed the pot of water on the burner to prepare tea. As the water came to a boil, she mixed some fruit juice from a can of powdered juice mix, and poured it into a small cup that she handed to Shippo. Carefully slicing one of the sandwiches into quarters, she passed it over as well and said, "Here you go Shippo. If you finish everything on your plate, I might just find a piece of chocolate for dessert."

"Chocolate!" Squeaked Shippo, "Oh, boy" and he started to stuff his mouth full of sandwich.

"Slow down, Shippo, don't eat so fast or you'll make yourself sick," Kagome said as she reached over to cover his mouth to stop him from cramming another piece of his sandwich into his mouth.

"Here you go, Sango, Miroku; I hope that you like them." She said as she handed each of them a plate with two sandwiches and a cup of fruit juice. Standing up, Kagome reached into her pack, pulled out her first aid kit and went over to a nearby log and sat down to begin treating her sore foot.

"Lady Kagome, perhaps I could help you with that injury?" asked the young monk with a mischievous grin.

"I don't think so, Miroku. You just sit…"

"Arrgh!" SLAM!

"Eeek!" cried Kagome as something hit the ground right behind her. Jumping up, she spun around and looked down at Inuyasha's flattened form.

"Damn it, wench, what did I do!" barked the prone dog demon.

"Oh, dear Inuyasha! I didn't realize, I mean, I thought that …" Bending down to help him, she said "Really, I'm so sorry! I was just telling Miroku to si.., I mean that he should just…" Covering her bright red face with her hands, she mumbled "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" as she sat back down on the log and bent over, hiding her face as she covered the blister with ointment and a Band-Aid.

Looking confused, Inuyasha came into the clearing slowly and sat down on the log next to the young girl.

"Uh... it's okay, it's not like it hurt me or anything. It's just… well, usually I know it's coming and this time I was surprised, okay?" Said the young hanyou sitting next to her.

"I'm sorry," Kagome repeated softly, with her face still hidden as she put her sock and shoe back on.

"Kagome?" asked the little kitsune. "What's the big deal? You've 'sit' dog-boy lot's of times before." He looked back and forth between Inuyasha and Kagome, confused by their responses.

As she looked up at the others, they saw the tracks of tears running down her face, the sight of this stunned them all into silence. Taking a deep breath, she said "Just because I **_can_** do it, that doesn't mean I **_should_** do it." Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she smiled shakily and said "Especially by accident. So, I'm sorry Inuyasha, it was undeserved and unintentional, and I hope that you can forgive me."

Looking stunned, the hanyou stuttered "Uh, um, well um. Okay. I mean, it's not like I haven't deserved it before and had you let me off. Really, Kagome," he said jumping to his feet, "it's okay."

Kagome smiled at him and said "Thank you. Would you like some lunch? I made sandwiches for everyone, if you would like some."

"I'd say yes, if I were you," piped up Shippo. "They're really good and I think she's got some chocolate left for dessert, if you're good." By this time he was practically quivering with excitement.

While Inuyasha sniffed carefully at his sandwiches, Kagome used the hot water to make tea for the adults before she began eating her own lunch.

After lunch was finished, Kagome handed the plates and cups to Shippo and asked Miroku to take him down to the stream to rinse them off. She pulled out one of her last few bars of chocolate and set it aside as she began repacking everything she had used for lunch.

"Inuyasha, how long before we get back to Kaede's village?" Kagome asked as she put the now clean cups and plates into her backpack.

"Eh? I don't know, two or three days. Why?"

"Because I think I have enough food for only three or four meals, that's all."

"Keh," he grunted. "Maybe something will turn up."

Rolling her eyes at his casual attitude, Kagome picked up her pack and started to swing it up onto her back.

"Eeek!" She exclaimed as Inuyasha snatched the large pack from her grasp and slung it over his own shoulder.

"Come on, Kagome. Let's go."

Picking up Shippo and cradling him in her arms, she followed after Inuyasha deeper into the forest.

After the companions disappeared, a soft, evil laughter filled the clearing. "How very interesting. Heh, heh, heh. Sit. How…appropriate.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

Later that same afternoon, as they left the forest, a small village appeared before them, tucked along both sides of a tiny river. On the side of the river closest to them, perhaps a dozen small huts were clustered around two or three larger huts. The path that they were following led directly to the village, before it crossed the river using a small, rickety wooden bridge. On the other side of the river were another dozen or so houses, as well as a small dock with two small boats tied up to it. Fishing boats, no doubt, as they were too small to carry many passengers or much cargo.

"Hmm, it's not much, but perhaps I can find us a decent place to spend the night," offered Miroku.

"Feh, whatever," grunted Inuyasha.

As Miroku talked with the village elders, Kagome shifted Shippo's sleeping form gently in her arms as she waited to find out which house was in dire need of exorcism. Exchanging a small grin with Sango, she looked down at the sleeping kitsune and started softly humming a lullaby she remembered from her own childhood. She gently brushed the hair out of his face and a soft, sweet smile appeared on her face as she realized, once again, just how much she had grown to love this little boy. This little, **_kitsune_**, orphan who filled her heart with love and happiness.

As she stood waiting for Miroku's offer of 'help' to be accepted, she was surprised when Inuyasha dropped her pack to the ground next to her and walked past both the monk and the elders, causing their conversation to come to an immediate halt.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" The monk asked as he moved up along side of the young dog-demon.

"Horseman, a bunch of them. Probably local bandits," he replied. "Hey, old man! You have any problems with bandits lately?" He barked sharply.

At this, the elder paled and said shakily, "Y-yes, I-I'm afraid we have had some problems with bandits and thieves lately."

Even as the elder spoke, a large band of horseman came around the curve in the path that had hidden them. There were almost twenty of them, armed with a mixture of swords, spears and bows. Most of them wore only pieces of mismatched armor over scanty and dirty clothes. Only one of them seemed to have anything approaching a full, matching set of armor – probably looted from a dead daimyo, since it had been crudely adjusted to fit his huge bulk.

"Really? Good, 'cause I was starting to get bored. Miroku, stay with Kagome and the brat. Sango, you want have some fun?" He growled eagerly.

Sango sighed, rolled her eyes at Kagome, who quickly stifled a giggle, and walked up next to Inuyasha. "So, do we ask them to surrender or just attack them without warning."

"How should I know?" he asked. "Oh, whatever. Hey you!" He shouted at the large group of armed horseman. "Feh, worthless ronin," he muttered under his breath. Raising his voice again, he called out to them, "Leave now! Or it's gonna get messy!"

"How—diplomatic," murmured Miroku quietly to Kagome.

"I know. He's the absolute soul of tact and discretion," joked Kagome.

As the horseman pulled up in disarray, the leader, a large, arrogant looking man with a scraggly beard and mustache, shouted to his followers, "Ho-ho-ho, the little boy is trying to scare us away! And just take a look at that girl behind him, she looks lonely for the company of **_real _**men!"

"Yeah, and good enough to eat, too!" answered another.

As the bandits shouted insults and curses at the people watching in the street. Miroku watched his companion shake her head and softly sigh.

Finally, after a particularly vile insult, Inuyasha growled and leaped at the leader of the bandits. Smashing him to the ground, he bounced and spun, hammering the bandits out of their saddles and to ground with his fists and feet, not even bothering to draw his sword. While Inuyasha worked his way through the crowd, Sango sped along the edges, using Hiraikotsu, her large boomerang made from demon-bone, to take down any bandits that had been missed by the hanyou's brutal attack. In less than two minutes, the last of the bandits collapsed unconscious to the ground.

As the villagers peeked fearfully from around the huts and other small buildings, the village elder shook off his stunned surprise and called out to his people to catch the horses and to disarm and bind the bandits.

Stopping for a moment to talk to the elder, Inuyasha turned and looked at the largest building in this half of the village, nodded to the elder and bounded back to his companions.

"Let's go," he said. "We can use his place tonight. Oh, yeah," turning to the monk, he continued. "Miroku, the elder asked that you complete your 'exorcism' before dinner."

Miroku just sighed and replied, "Of course, I would be delighted."

Kagome followed Inuyasha as he picked up her large yellow back pack and headed into the house he had pointed out. As she approached, she saw that building was old, but very well cared for. The front of the hut had a wooden porch, covered by an extension of the roof. The doorway was covered by a woven mat, decorated with a complex geometric patterns designed into the weave.

"Inuyasha?" asked Kagome, "What was it that caused you to jump them like that? I couldn't hear clearly."

"Feh."

"No, seriously. I thought for a moment you were going to tear them all to pieces."

"Stupid ronin should learn to keep their mouths shut."

"Well," she said with a little grin, "I think that they learned that lesson pretty quick." Then Kagome giggled, "Maybe you should be a teacher; if all your students master their lessons that fast, you'd be great!"

" Keh, no challenge."

The girl just smiled as she lay the sleeping child gently down on a large cushion. Turning to her friend she said, "If you don't mind, I need to do some homework and study for my tests. I have two of them next week."

"Whatev…uh, sure. I'll ask the elder to provide some dinner later. You just study or whatever," the hanyou replied.

Puzzled by his response, Kagome watched Inuyasha walk away. Finally, she shrugged and pulled out two of her text books and her list of assignments and started writing rapidly in her notebook.

Walking over to where Sango and Miroku were talking together, he gruffly said "Kagome's studying and the pup's asleep. See if you can get the villagers to scrape up something to eat for dinner. I'm going back to the forest for a while." With that the hanyou leapt off towards the forest.

Shrugging at each other, Miroku stated "I believe that I will take care of the exorcism now. Dear lady, please ask the elder about arranging dinner." As soon as he had finished speaking the young monk walked towards the largest building, his staff tinkling gently as he went.

Later that evening as Sango arranged the fish, millet and vegetables that had been provided by the villagers, Kagome asked, "Where is Inuyasha? I haven't seen him for a couple of hours."

"I believe that he said that he was going back to the forest for a bit," replied Miroku. "I'm not certain why."

"Well, I hope he comes home soon," breaking off to cover a big yawn, Kagome continued. "I want to get a good nights sleep, 'cause we have another long day coming up tomorrow."

Digging into her pack, Kagome didn't notice the amusement on Sango and Miroku's faces. Pulling out a small bag, she called "Come on Shippo, let's get washed up and ready for bed."

"Aww, Kagome, it's still early. Do I have to?" the little kitsune asked.

"Yes, you do. I know you took a nap this afternoon, but it's still been a pretty busy week and tomorrow is going to be another long day," Kagome replied.

Stopping at the edge of the tiny river, Kagome knelt down and pulled out a toothbrush and toothpaste and began preparing a small, bright blue toothbrush for the little boy.

"How come I have to brush my teeth all the time, Kagome?" he whined.

"'Cause you're gonna get cavities if you don't," she replied.

"What's 'cavities', Kagome?"

"Hmm, I guess it's when you get small holes in your teeth, and they start to hurt really bad all the time."

"Uh, Kagome, I don't think that youkai can get 'cavities'"

"Maybe not, but you still have to brush your teeth," she stated firmly.

"But, why?" he asked.

"Because I said so, that's why." She answered.

Just then she heard a soft chuckle behind her and a voice that said "It seems that children are children, whether they are human or demon, doesn't seem to matter."

Turning around, Kagome saw a woman, dressed as a miko, who appeared to be about 30 years old. Her light brown hair was tied back in a simple braid, and her eyes twinkled with humor. Her hakama was dark green rather than red, and to Kagome's relief, she didn't resemble **_Kikyo_** in any way. Not the same colors, and she was definitely much happier, not so – calm and controlled – as the undead miko.

"Hello, my name is Kagome and this," placing her hand on Shippo's head, "is Shippo."

"Indeed, I've heard much of you and your companions in the short time since I returned to the village this evening. My name is Mitsuki, and I serve as miko for this and two other villages nearby. I thank you for all that you have done for my people. If there is anything that I can do to help you, please don't hesitate to ask." As she finished, the miko smiled, bowed and headed back to the village.

Watching her for a moment, Kagome then turned back to the little kitsune and said, "Let's finish washing up and get to bed."

That evening, after settling the kit into a small pile of blankets next to her sleeping bag, Kagome pulled a small candle lantern out of her pack, lit it with a lighter and began reading from a large stack of loose papers.

"Lady Kagome, may I ask a question?" piped up a small voice from where Shippo was sleeping.

"Sure Myoga, what do you want to know?"

"Normally, you study from your 'books'. This is the first time that I've seen you studying from individual pieces of paper."

"That's because one of my teachers assigned me an essay to help with my grades. With all the time I've spent searching for Jewel shards, my scores have dropped." She sighed, "A lot."

"And this 'essay' will help you?"

Kagome laughed. "I sure hope so, but my science teacher picked a pretty weird topic. I mean," turning one sheet so that Myoga could see the picture of two running wolves, "what do I know about the social behaviors of wolves?" She paused a moment, before saying with a laugh, "I suppose I could use Koga's pack as an example, but I don't think she would believe me."

"Hmm, perhaps," the flea demon replied. "But wolf demons and dog demons have customs quite similar to their natural counterparts."

"Really? I didn't know that," Kagome exclaimed.

"Neither did I, Myoga-san," Miroku added.

Sango spoke from where she was working on her weapons. "My father taught me that most of the greater demons took on the best of animal's and the worst of human traits to form their own unique behavior."

"Hmm, I think your father might have been a just a bit biased against demon-kind. Unfortunately, it **_is_** fairly accurate," Myoga replied. "Many of the taiyoukai do seem to have taken the worst human behavior as an example to be exceeded, rather than to be avoided."

"Alas, if only demons could see that with Buddha's help, the eight-fold path would lead them to enlightenment and peace. Perhaps I should attempt to enlighten the next demon we encounter by offering to show him the true path to nirvana through my example."

"And precisely which example would that be, houshi-sama," jibed the demon exterminator, "lechery or larceny?"

As everyone began laughing, Miroku clasped his hand to his chest and proclaimed "Dear Lady Sango, your words strike so harshly."

Kagome giggled and said, "And so, so accurately, too."

With that the young monk flung his arms wide and fell back, pretending to be mortally wounded.

Smiling to herself, Kagome began to read through the sheaf of papers.

Leaping to her shoulder, Myoga started reading along with her, occasionally asking her for the meaning of symbols he was unfamiliar with and pointing out common points between demon and animal behaviors. After about an hour of this both the monk and the taijiya had fallen asleep, and Kagome was yawning almost continuously before she gave up, put away her homework, blew out the candle, and snuggled down into her sleeping bag to get some sleep.

As everyone else slept peacefully through the night, Myoga pondered on all that he had read that evening and how it might effect them all.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

The next morning, after a light breakfast of leftovers and fresh tea, the small party went out to make their farewells.

To their surprise, Inuyasha was talking quietly to the elder and as they joined up with him, two women brought baskets filled with bread, cheese and sausages up to the half-demon, which they presented to him with deep bows of respect. To everyone's surprise and amazement, Inuyasha nodded politely, picked up both baskets in one hand, and then scowled at his companions and barked, "What? Let's go!"

Shaking her head, Kagome settled her pack and followed Inuyasha out of the village and back on the road.

Kagome walked alongside Inuyasha for about twenty minutes, talking to Shippo and answering his non-stop questions about her life in the future. Eventually, he quieted enough for her to speak to her friend walking alongside.

"Inuyasha, why did those ladies give you the baskets of food this morning?"

His only reply was a grunt.

Smiling, Kagome persisted. "Seriously, Inuyasha, preserved foods like that," she nodded at the baskets he was carrying, "are a lot more valuable than most fresh foods. And both of the women looked pretty happy about giving them to you. So…why?"

"Feh," he snorted as a faint blush appeared on his cheeks.

"Hey, dog-boy, what did you do to make them give up the food, threaten to bop them or something?" asked the little kitsune.

"Hush, Shippo, don't tease him," Kagome said, placing her hand firmly on top of his head. At this, the kitsune looked up at her, shocked that she had interfered in the squabble between Inuyasha and himself, and even more shocked that she seemed to be taking the hanyou's side.

"Please, Inuyasha, why did they give …"

"Feh," he interrupted. "I just swapped some fresh game to the elder's wife." He snorted, "I don't think they've had any fresh meat in a looong time." He paused a moment, and then added "She was the one who asked if there was any game left in the forest."

Laughing, Kagome said "Well, I guess we can have sandwiches again for lunch today." After a moment, she continued, "If you keep providing food like this, I won't need to bring so much Ramen, although I'm going to have to start bringing mustard and spices to cook with."

"Hey," he said, with a shocked look on his face. "You can't forget the Ramen!"

"Just kidding! I would never forget, I know how much you love it," she answered with a giggle and a mischievous grin.

For the rest of the morning, the party continued along the road as it followed the course of a small river. As sun rose high in the sky, they approached a crossroad that led over a shaky looking bridge that crossed the river.

Finally, Miroku spoke up. "I believe that this might be a good place to have our next meal."

As they stopped, Kagome dropped her pack with a small sigh, and asked, "Inuyasha, may I have the baskets, so I can see what we have to work with for lunch?"

Inuyasha simply handed her the baskets and loped off towards the nearby woods without a word.

Frowning, Kagome watched him until he disappeared into the trees. Kneeling next to the baskets, she quickly inventoried the contents and decided that she would make sandwiches again, but with onions, cucumbers, and fried mushrooms this time.

Starting her stove, Kagome placed a small amount of cooking oil in the frying pan, and sautéed the mushrooms and onions together while she prepared the rest of the materials. This time she asked Sango to make the tea, while she showed Shippo how to slice the bread into somewhat even slices.

As she worked, Kagome explained to Shippo what she chose to use to make the sandwiches today, and why it was different from the day before.

"You see, although I could have made the sandwiches the same way as yesterday, by varying the filling…"

"Filling? What's that?" The little kitsune interrupted.

"Don't interrupt, please. It's rude."

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"That's okay. As I was saying," she continued, "the filling is pretty much whatever I decide to put between the two slices of bread. It might be meat, cheese, fish, vegetables or a combination of any of them. Sometimes the filling is hot, sometimes it's cold." Pausing as she divided the sandwiches on to different plates, she added, "other than trying to make sure it tastes good, I try to balance it nutritionally, as well."

"Nut-notrix-n…I can't even say that word; what doe's it mean?" He asked, almost desperately.

"Well, nutrition is the study of food. Specifically, what types of food are best for staying healthy," Kagome replied.

"The best kind of food? I know what that is! It's **CHOCOLATE!**" Shippo shouted.

At that, both Sango and Miroku began to laugh loudly. Kagome just shook her head and said, "No, dear. Chocolate is NOT the best food. Just because it tastes good, that doesn't mean that it actually IS good. In fact, chocolate has almost no nutritional value at all, and if you eat too much of it, you may find yourself becoming rather fat."

"But, Kagome, you give us chocolate to eat all the time! How come we aren't fat?" asked Shippo.

"Well, first, I don't give out chocolate all the time. Usually, I just share out a single candy bar between all of us after dinner. That amount of chocolate won't cause any harm, not even to someone as young as you are. And secondly, we all lead a somewhat active life, which tends to prevent any of us from getting fat." As she spoke, she passed out the plates of sandwiches to everyone, and accepted a cup of tea from Sango in return.

"An active life? Well, I suppose our search could be described as 'active'," mused the monk. "Although most unbiased observers would probably use some other term."

"Like what? Frantic? Suicidal? Insane?" laughed Sango.

"Yes, those are good words," replied Miroku. "But, so are words like 'necessary' or 'vital' and … 'justice'.

Finishing her lunch, Kagome looked around to see if Inuyasha was coming back. Not seeing him, Kagome sat back down, closed her eyes and 'felt' for him using the same sense that she used to detect Shikon shards and demonic auras. Breathing slowly and calmly, she felt Myoga, Kirara and Shippo's auras as, first, a small, hard green light (Myoga), a churning, red/orange flame (Kirara), and then, a smaller, softer brown light (Shippo) close at hand. Pushing her senses out farther, she felt the entire forest as a single, slowly pulsing, very faint blue light with a moving red glow that was approaching quickly.

"Inuyasha." She sighed softly to herself. Opening her eyes, she said "Inuyasha will be back in a few minutes; I'm glad, his sandwiches will still be warm."

As she filled a fresh cup with tea, she asked "Sango, is Kirara well enough to carry us back to Kaede's village?"

"Well, I think she can carry two or three of us, but not all of us yet."

"Hmm, I'll talk to Inuyasha after he's had lunch. Maybe he will take me with him so we can get home by this evening."

As she spoke, the young hanyou came to a stop and dropped cross-legged to the ground next to her and asked, "So, what's for lunch?"

Kagome handed him a plate filled with sandwiches and a cup of tea that she had prepared and covered with a towel until he returned. "Here you go, eat up."

Smiling, Miroku started picking up plates and said, "Come on, Shippo, let's get started on the dishes."

While they carried the dishes down to the river, Kagome and Sango began repacking the backpack with Kagome's cooking supplies and the fresh food they had received that morning.

As she waited for the cleaned dishes, Kagome spoke up.

"Inuyasha? Would you mind if this afternoon Shippo and Miroku rode on Kirara with Sango, and if I traveled with you? I would very much like to be back in Kaede's village before nightfall, and…"

"Huh? You want to…go with me? Why?" As he spoke he had a sandwich in one hand and a cup of tea in the other, his expression was puzzled and questioning.

"Lots of reasons," she said. "Including that we can travel much, much faster this way and, well, there are a couple of things I need to talk to you about."

"What kinds of things?" Inuyasha asked, frowning at her for a moment before he started to eat his sandwich again.

"Private things," turning, she looked back at the river, "things concerning small ears."

Turning back to face him, she asked quietly, "Please?"

"Huh. Alright, I'll carry you back to Kaede's village."

At this, Kagome smiled and touched him gently on the shoulder before turning and walking down to the river where the dishes were being cleaned.

Later, as she helped to load their supplies on Kirara's back, Kagome spoke up. "Myoga, would you do me a favor?"

"Of course, Lady Kagome, I would be delighted to help you in any way possible."

"Thank you, I would like you to talk to Shippo and assess his level of knowledge concerning demon lore in general, in kitsune lore and history specifically."

"Huh? But…Kagome, why do you want Myoga to do that? I could just tell you instead," the little kitsune objected.

"Yes, dear. You could, but I would not be able to determine any gaps in your knowledge, so I've asked Myoga to do it for me."

"But…"

"No, dear. Please go with Myoga and do as I've asked," she said firmly.

"Okay, but…will I see you tonight?" Shippo asked plaintively.

"Of course, we'll be meeting at Kaede's village in a few hours." Kneeling down, she gave the little boy a big hug before handing him up to Miroku.

While they watched their friends fly up into the sky on Kirara's back, Kagome strapped her quiver and bow onto her back.

Dropping to one knee, Inuyasha simply said 'Lets go."

Climbing up, Kagome flattened herself tightly to his back and held on with all her strength.

Holding on to her legs with his powerful hands, he leaned forward and leaped towards the forest, reaching top speed quickly as he jumped from treetop to treetop.

Quickly, Inuyasha settled down to a smooth and very fast passage across the top of the forest. Much higher up, though not very far ahead, Kagome could see Kirara running across the sky.

Lifting her face into the strong breeze created by their passage, Kagome closed her eyes and laughed out loud.

His ears flicked at the sound of her laughter. "You sound happy, Kagome."

"I am happy," she said. A moment later she added, "I've missed this."

"Missed what?"

"This," she clarified, "I've missed being carried like this by you. I don't think you've carried me like this in over a month."

"Oh," he said. Pausing while landing on the ground on the far side of the forest, Inuyasha began running at a very fast pace with occasional long leaps to clear obstacles.

After a couple of minutes of silence, he spoke up again. "I didn't know you liked it when I carried you. You always seemed to want to ride on Kirara or your bicycle, or even just walk."

Kagome nuzzled her face into his long, flowing silver hair for a moment before answering. "It's true that I do like to walk or ride my bike a lot. But, as far as riding on Kirara, well, I've been doing that more to give you some space than because I preferred to ride on her back." She paused a bit, than added softly, "I like it when you carry me." Blushing, she whispered, "You make me feel…safe."

"Uhh…um…ahh," he stuttered a bit before trailing off into silence.

The silence lasted for about ten minutes as they continued to travel, each fully occupied with their own thoughts.

Finally, Inuyasha spoke up. "What was it that you wanted to talk about? About Shippo, I mean."

"Oh, well, I've been thinking about him a lot lately, and well, I don't know if he is typical for kitsunes his age, but for humans he would be considered very bright, and…" she trailed off, then spoke up again. "I just think that he should be doing more than traveling with us. I mean, he tries to help, but he's just a kid! He needs to learn things, more than just fighting and tricks he uses to cheer us up and make us laugh."

"Maybe he cheers you up, but he's a pain in the butt to me!" Inuyasha snapped.

Kagome sighed, "I know, and I'm sorry. That's mostly my fault, I'm afraid."

"Huh? No, it's not; he's just a pain in the butt, that's all. It's not your fault, Kagome!"

"Really? And what happens when he does irritate you? Who does he run to for help? Me. And all too often I end up saying the 's' word, don't I?" Kagome said in a sad voice. "Well, I can't change the past, but I can change how I act in the future. I'm going to talk to mama about some advice on childrearing…"

"Child! Shippo's not a child, he's a demon!" Inuyasha burst out.

"Yes, he is," she stated firmly. "Demon or human, he is still a little boy who lost both of his parents. He deserves better than to be left to grow up wild and uncontrollable. He is a sweet little boy, but he has the makings of a terrible brat if we don't make some changes right away."

"Is that why you wanted him to ride on Kirara?"

"Partly. I asked Myoga to talk to him, because Myoga is the oldest demon among us, and can better see what areas Shippo needs to learn about. For the most part, I wanted to talk to you without Shippo nearby, which can be difficult.'

"That's for sure!" he broke in, "the runt is always hanging around you."

"Actually, Inuyasha, I was talking to Sango yesterday and she told me something very interesting. Would you like to hear it?" Kagome asked.

"Feh"

"I'll take that as 'yes'," she said with a smile. "Sango told me that when I go back through the well, Shippo usually mopes around for a couple of hours, and then he starts getting closer to you."

"What? What are you talking about? That's crazy!" he spluttered. Coming to a stop, he set her down on the ground, turned around to face her, and said, "He hates me! He's always doing stuff that drives me crazy!"

Smiling at the confused hanyou, she said, "Actually, I think it makes perfect sense. From Shippo's point of view, staying close to you is the best possible place to be."

"What!"

"Seriously, of everyone he knows, you, Inuyasha, can keep him safe from anything. I mean, look at it: the Thunder Brothers killed his father, and you killed them to avenge his father's death. And then you let him come along with us."

"Hey, you're the one who wanted him to stay with us!" he said defensively.

Stepping closer, Kagome gently laid her finger across his lips. "Shhh. It's okay. I know I wanted him to come with us, and I still want him to stay with us. But," lifting her finger away, Kagome continued, "from Shippo's point of view, it was your decision, not mine."

"Huh? But – but, that's not, uh, I mean… that doesn't make any sense!" he stammered.

"Yes, it does. Especially from Shippo's perspective," she stated firmly. "According to Myoga, demons in general and kitsunes in particular, are very patriarchal. Which means that to Shippo, only **_your_** decision counted."

Watching his confused expression, Kagome almost laughed, but resisted the temptation. Finally, when it seemed that Inuyasha wasn't going to speak, she spoke up again. "I think that Shippo is unaware of why he acts the way he does, but he truly does look up to you. He just doesn't know how to show it appropriately."

"Appropriately?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"Appropriately," she said firmly. "All we have to do is to teach him the right way to behave."

"And … just how do we do that? Any time I try to talk to him, he does something to piss me off, and then I just bop him on the head."

"We show him by example, the proper way to behave. This means that you have to control your temper, and that I have to stop petting and holding him when the two of you disagree." Taking a deep breath, she continued, "And my using 's' to interfere between the two of you has just been making it worse."

"What!" He said in disbelief.

"I've been making it worse," she said again. "I'd like to try making it **_better_** instead."

Looking straight at her, Inuyasha reached out and gently traced the curve of her cheek with his claw, causing a shiver to run down her spine. Turning around, he knelt down and said, "Climb on and hold tight, we've got a lot of ground to cover."

As she climbed onto his back, Inuyasha said, "I don't know if I understand everything you've just told me…but I think I want to try doing things in a different way. Who knows, maybe it will work?" He laughed a bit and then added, "Anything would be better than him pissing me off and then getting bopped all the time." With that, he started off even faster than he had been going before.

Kagome merely hugged him close and whispered "Thank you, thank you very much," and then lay her head on his shoulder and relaxed for the rest of the journey.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Arriving at the village about an hour before sunset, they all gathered in Kaede's hut for dinner and to make plans for their next move.

Glancing out the open door at the setting sun, Kagome finished her tea, set aside the cup, and interrupted the discussion of rumors and tales of newly powerful demons and daimyos.

"I'm sorry to break in like this, but I haven't been home in almost ten days. I need at least a few days to catch up on my school assignments and any tests I may have missed," she wrinkled her nose at the thought of her tests, "and I need to stock up on food and first aid supplies."

"What!" Inuyasha said, gaping at her, "But you didn't …"

Interrupting him, Kagome added, "And I would appreciate it if you would come with me, Inuyasha, I think I'm going to need your help."

Opening and closing his mouth several times, clearly taken by surprise, he finally settled for a simple nod.

Turning to Shippo, she than asked "Would you please help Myoga until he returns, with anything that he needs?"

Although confused, the kitsune drew himself up proudly and replied, "Sure, Kagome, I'll help him no matter what."

"Thank you, Shippo. My friends, I'll see you as soon as I can."

Picking up her bow and quiver, she followed the young dog-demon outside and into the forest towards the Bone-Eater's Well.

Walking in silence, they passed between the rice paddies and vegetable plots, before they entered the forest. They passed the Go-Shim-Boku and Kagome looked up at the spot where Inuyasha had been pinned by Kikyo's arrow. _'Its been over a year since I released him from that sealing spell. I still can't believe its real sometimes. I mean, traveling back in time, fighting demons, using magic…if I told my friends what I really did, they'd think I was insane…or using drugs. Knock it off, girl. You need to focus on what's important and what's real, not what your school friends **might** think if they knew the truth._ Kagome sighed at her thoughts, _Not that they could handle the truth.'_

They soon arrived at the magical well. As Kagome started to climb on to the low wall surrounding the well, Inuyasha finally spoke up.

"Why? Why do you want me to come with you? Usually, you just say 'sit' and jump without a second thought."

Sighing, she turned on the lip of the well and replied, "If you believe that I jump through the well, back to the world that I grew up in, without a second thought," pausing for a moment, she finally went on, "I **_always_** think about staying. There are times that I wish the well would – just stop working. Maybe then I wouldn't always feel so torn between two worlds." With that she leaped into the well, and fell 500 years into the future.

"But, Kagome…" But she was already gone. "Damn it wench, wait for me!" Leaping into the well, the hanyou disappeared from sight with a flash of violet light.

As she climbed out of the ancient well, Kagome could hear voices speaking outside the shrine's door. It was her mother and … a boy. "Oh, God! Not Hojo, not again," she muttered.

Leaping to the edge of the well, Inuyasha asked, "Who's Hojo?"

"Shh…!" shushing him frantically, but quietly, "He's a boy from my school. He's probably checking to see how I'm doing. Grandpa keeps telling the wildest stories about how sick I am to explain all the time I spend searching for Jewel shards."

"Grrrr," Inuyasha snarled and cracked his knuckles, before starting towards the door, "I'll take care of this!"

"Inuyasha! No! Please let my mother handle him," Kagome whispered frantically.

"Grrrr!" His growling becoming louder by the second, Kagome grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him around to face her. Desperate to distract the growling hanyou, she went up on her tip-toes, pulled his face down to hers and kissed him.

Stunned by her action, Inuyasha froze in astonishment as he felt her soft lips against his. Encouraged, Kagome pressed herself closer to Inuyasha, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and kissed him again.

She pressed her warm body against his and drank in his scent; earth, trees, and something uniquely Inuyasha. He felt weak as her tongue traced the outline of his mouth; she tasted both sweet and salty. Just as the last of his resolve melted away, Kagome began nibbling on his lips and opened herself as his tongue slipped inside and began to gently duel hers.

As their kiss continued, Kagome's thoughts swirled until she forgot why she had kissed Inuyasha in the first place. Moaning softly, she let her head fall back as Inuyasha kissed and nibbled his way down her neck to her shoulder.

As he nuzzled Kagome, the scent rising from her threatened to drive Inuyasha wild, his demon instincts urged him to take her, to taste the sweetness of her flesh and her blood, while his human side wanted…something else, something different. Fighting to control both sets of instincts, he stopped kissing her and just held her close, inhaling the intoxicating scent that was uniquely Kagome, and just enjoyed the feel of her soft, warm body next to his.

As Inuyasha stopped kissing her, Kagome became aware of her surroundings once more. As she stood there with her arms wrapped tightly around him, she finally realized that the voices she had been hearing, her mother's and Hojo´s, had fallen silent.

Taking a deep breath, she loosened her grip, and eased slowly away so that she could see his face. "I-Inuyasha, I … I, oh, I…"

"Are you … sorry?" he asked quietly.

"No, oh no, not at all!" she replied, raising her hands to cup his face. "I've wanted to do this for so long. I could never be s…"

"Kagome! Are you down there? It's safe to come up now, Hojo finally left." Her mother's voice came from right outside the door to the well shrine.

"Eep!" she squeaked, as she jumped in surprise and fell back to sit on the steps.

"Are you okay, Kagome?" he asked, offering a hand to help her back up.

"Uh, yeah. Um, just surprised is all." Raising her voice, she called out, "Hi, Mama, we'll be up in a minute."

Taking his hand, Kagome got to her feet and brushed herself off. Looking around, she spotted her bow and quiver of arrows on the floor where she had dropped them. As she picked them up and slung them over her shoulder, Inuyasha picked up her backpack and started up the steps.

As he headed towards the door, Kagome held out her hand for him to take. Inuyasha looked at it for a moment, and then hesitantly clasped her soft hand in his own, callused hand.

Walking hand in hand, they went up the stairs and out into the twilight together.

As she watched her daughter and her friend approach, she contented herself with a raised eyebrow, before simply saying, "Welcome home, my dear. Will you be staying a while, Inuyasha?" She added as the pair came to a stop in front of her.

"Um, well …" the dog-demon began, when Kagome broke in. "Yes, that is, at least for tonight. Um, if that's okay?" She added the last a bit hesitantly.

Her mother just smiled at them, and said, "Of course, you're welcome to stay as long as you like Inuyasha."

Stunned by her offer of hospitality, the likes of which he could not ever recall being given to a despised half-breed hanyou ever before, he finally stammered, "Thank you," in response to Kagome's hand squeezing his.

Turning to lead the way into the house, Kagome's mother thought to herself, '_Something's happened between them. Something has changed if they are willing to be more open about their feelings. I'll have to see if they'll talk to me about this later.'_

Opening the door to the kitchen, she called out, "Jii-chan, Sota! Kagome's home! And Inuyasha is here with her. Come and say hello." Pointing to the table, she added, "Put your things on the table. Are you hungry? I can warm up some leftovers or make some sandwiches?"

"Thanks mama, I'm fine right now. Inuyasha? Would you like something to eat? Or maybe to drink?" Kagome replied.

"I'm not hungry right now, we ate at Kaede's earlier." Inuyasha paused a moment and then added, "Thank you."

As they were putting their packs and things on the table, footsteps rapidly approached the kitchen. Bursting in to the room, Sota shouted "Kagome! Where've you been! What kept you so long? Hey! Inuyasha! Cool!" Pausing for breath, he looked back and forth between Kagome and Inuyasha before speaking again, "So, tell me what happened! Did you beat any demons? Huh?"

"Later, Sota. Let us catch our breath before you start grilling us, okay?" Kagome begged. "I'll tell you what happened, but not tonight, okay?"

Sighing melodramatically, Sota nodded and climbed on to a stool in the corner, and settled in to listen to everyone else talk.

Next to arrive was Kagome's grandfather, who frowned as he spotted Inuyasha and then began intoning a banishing spell that finished with a resounding "Demon, be gone!"

"Feh," was the only result.

"Kagome, please show Inuyasha to the guest room **_before_** you hide in the bathroom. Inuyasha, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," her mother requested.

"Sure, mama." Kagome said, "Come on, let's go upstairs."

Grabbing his hand, Kagome led him upstairs to the guest room, stopping to pick out some sheets and blankets from the hall closet on the way.

The room she led him to was fairly small, furnished in an old fashioned style, with a futon in one corner and a freestanding armoire in the opposite corner. Along the other wall were a low desk and a short bookshelf that held mostly old magazines and newspapers. A large window was centered in one wall, facing the ancient Go-Shim-Boku tree.

Removing the blue coverlet from the futon, Kagome quickly made up the futon, while Inuyasha watched silently. After a few minutes, Inuyasha opened the window and settled comfortably on the sill.

When she finished with the futon, she walked over to the window and said, "Inuyasha, if there's anything you need, just ask my mom or me." With a dreamy look in her eyes, she continued, "I'm going to take a **_hot_** bath and wash my hair." Sighing, she added, "I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

To this he just nodded, so she turned, and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Inuyasha watched her as she left and then followed her progress by the sounds of her footsteps down the hall and the filling of the tub. Finally, he sighed and turned to watch the sun as it slowly set in the west.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

As he watched the setting sun, Inuyasha thought back over the last two weeks, especially Kagome's odd behavior of the last few days, towards him and towards Shippo.

'_I wonder what made her think about Shippo? I suppose he is growing a bit wild, but he's KITSUNE not INU, how should he be raised? I can barely remember my mother, and I don't remember my father at all, I don't have any idea how to raise a pup, especially a kitsune.' _Musing a bit more, he thought '_I haven't even seen any kitsune since before Kikyo sealed me to the tree. I wonder if Kaede knows if there are any near her village, maybe I can track them down and ask for some pointers?'_

Watching the sky darken at last, Inuyasha felt the familiar ebbing within himself as his youkai blood faded and he quietly became human once again.

Tossing his once-silver, now-black, hair back, Inuyasha pulled Tetsusaiga from his sash and tossed it to the futon across the room.

"I won't need that for a while," he growled to the empty room.

Looking back out the window, he listened carefully to the sounds of people moving around the house and sniffed the night air as the wind blew in through the window.

'_At least my hearing is almost as good as it usually is. I just wish my nose didn't feel so…dead.' _He thought to himself, '_I wonder why that is? Physically, I'm only human, but my hearing is just as good as when I'm a hanyou.'_

Shrugging off his useless speculations, he noticed footsteps approaching his room.

A soft knocking at the door roused him enough to growl, "What?"

"Inuyasha, may I come in?" Kagome asked in a quiet voice.

"Feh, whatever," he replied.

Shaking her head at his gruff response, Kagome opened the door, entered and closed it behind her. Carrying her brush and bottles of hair care stuff, she knelt down on the cushion in front of the desk facing the young man in the window. Unwrapping the towel around her hair, she began brushing out the tangles in her hair left over from her bath.

Inuyasha watched her brushing her hair for several minutes, before he realized that he was smiling at her as she knelt there, brushing her hair with her eyes closed. Frowning at his own behavior, he suddenly spoke up, breaking the peaceful silence.

"Kagome, why have you started acting different towards Shippo?" Inuyasha paused, waiting for her to open her eyes before continuing. "Why did you ask Myoga to 'assess' him?"

Kagome looked back at him seriously, and then answered, "Do you remember the market town we stayed in last week? Right after we got that shard from the rock oni?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I was watching a family doing some shopping in the market, and I noticed their children. I noticed that the two older ones were taking care of the youngest, and that they were telling him how to behave while in the marketplace. And then I watched how Shippo was running around the stalls and getting under everyone's feet," she answered.

"And…?" he prompted her.

"Well, it just occurred to me that I would never let Sota get away with behaving like that, and that those two little kids were doing a better job of teaching the little boy how to behave than I was," she stopped and shook her head before continuing, "I didn't like it. I didn't like thinking that I could be that bad at taking care of Shippo, so… I asked Myoga some questions about youkai child raising, not that he was much help; it seems that the different types of youkai raise their pups, kits, cubs, or what ever they call them, totally different. I decided to try doing it like I did with Sota until I could talk to my mom about it, and I think I want to go to a bookstore and see if I can find any books that might help."

'_Whoa…she sounds serious about this!' _ "So, why did you want me to come with you? Usually, you don't want me to follow you to your time, and will 'sit' me to stop me, so what's different this time?" he asked.

She bit her lip and dropped her eyes at his words, then drew a deep breath and said, "I know, it's just that…sometimes, you can be a real jerk, and well, even when you aren't, you can be very distracting when I'm trying to concentrate on studying or going to school." She laughed shakily, and then continued, "I can sort of feel you whenever you are nearby, and lately I can't really turn it off. I mean, I can't tell what you're feeling or anything, but I always know that you're there. God, I'm sorry, it's just that it's kind of confusing."

Inuyasha looked at Kagome with his eyes wide, and his mouth open. "What do you mean, you can feel me?"

"In my head, I can feel you like red glow that moves around inside my head. The glow is brighter and warmer, the closer you are to me," she explained.

"How long has this been going on, Kagome? Why didn't you ever say anything before?" Inuyasha asked her, sounding just a bit worried, or maybe angry.

"I'm not really sure how long, I mean, I've always been able to detect Shikon shards and demonic auras, but I just sort of noticed that I'm always 'aware' of you in the last month or so. Back in the Sengoku Jidai, it's not a problem, but here, when I'm trying to pay attention to my school work, well, sometimes it's pretty hard to stay focused." Blushing a bit, she added, "I didn't exactly know what to say about it. I wasn't sure if it was just because I've been working with you for so long, or what."

Inuyasha just looked at her, then asked, "Can you sense Shippo like that?"

"Sure, but then, he's usually close to me all the time, anyways," she said.

"Keh. So, why did you want me to come with you if I make it hard for you to do your school thing? Just because it's the new moon?"

"Not just because of the new moon. I wanted you to help me pick out some stuff for Shippo, and I need to talk to you without him listening in to us," she said with a smile.

"Keh, the little runt does like to eavesdrop, doesn't he?" he asked with a wry smile.

"Yeah, he does. But I still want to talk about how to change the way we treat him, so that we can start raising him not to be a brat. One like Sota is enough, thank you very much."

"Hey, Sota isn't that bad, is he?" Inuyasha asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, he is. You try living with him for a while. I bet your opinion would change. He's smart, clever, and entirely too prone to listening in on conversations that don't concern him." While she was talking, she got to her feet and walked silently over to the door, and pulled it open suddenly, dumping her little brother on to the floor in the middle of the room. Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, she picked him up and looked over at Inuyasha and asked, "You see what I mean?"

"Yeah, I think I do." Standing up, Inuyasha walked over to where she waited with her little brother. Cocking his head to one side, he stared at him for a few seconds before saying, "So, what do we do with him now? Pound him a few times, or just dump him into the well and let him climb out on his own. 'Course, he might just end up back 500 years."

Stifling a giggle, Kagome said, "I don't know, maybe the experience would be good for him. I think we should try the well and see what happens." Winking at Inuyasha, she let her grip loosen slightly, and Sota took full advantage of it by twisting away and running out the door as fast as his legs could take him.

As the sounds of Sota running down the stairs and out the kitchen door faded, both Kagome and Inuyasha started laughing together, until finally Kagome slipped to the floor with both hands clasped over her mouth, trying to keep from howling and Inuyasha simple fell back on to the futon, and didn't even try to contain his laughter.

A couple of minutes later, Mrs. Higurashi came upstairs to investigate to the loud laughter. "What in the world are you two laughing at? And why did Sota run out of the house so fast?" she asked, looking back and forth between the two laughing teens.

"S-Sota," Kagome gasped out, "I caught him listening at the door and…" She couldn't go on, she was laughing so hard.

"Keh, she just threatened to drop him down the well, to see if he'd like the feudal period in person," Inuyasha added, with a wicked grin.

Mrs. Higurashi turned and looked down the stairs her youngest had just ran down, than turned back and asked, "And this was so funny, because…?"

"Well, mama, we were just talking about how Shippo was starting to turn in to a bit of a brat, and what we could do to fix it, when I compared him to Sota. Unfavorably. That's when I heard him listening at the door." Kagome said, still grinning at the sight of her little brother's face when his hero, Inuyasha, suggested dropping him down the well.

"I see, so you are having some problems with Shippo, he's the little kitsune, right? What kind of problems?" Mrs. Higurashi asked her daughter.

"Well, he doesn't always listen very well…" Kagome began, when Inuyasha interrupted.

"Feh. He doesn't listen **_at all_**, unless I grab a hold of him and give him a good bop on the head."

Kagome grimaced at his words, but shrugged and continued, "And he has gotten really good at playing us against each other, I mean, he's cute, adorable, and I love him a lot, but it's gotta stop, before it gets any worse," she took a deep breath, glanced over at Inuyasha, and then went on. "I'm afraid that it could start to interfere with our shard hunt. He tries to help, but lately he has been just running wild. I'm also afraid that if he doesn't start listening better, he's going to get hurt." As she was speaking to her mother, the smile fell from her face, and she wrapped her arms around her self at the thought of Shippo coming to harm.

Inuyasha put his hand on her shoulder, and squeezed gently, "Don't worry, Kagome, we'll fix it as soon as we get back." She reached up and covered his hand with her own, and squeezed back.

"When did you notice that Shippo was getting out of control, Kagome?" Her mother asked her, ignoring their actions. "Was it one thing in particular, or a lot of little things?"

"As I was explaining to Inuyasha, before Sota interrupted, it was how he was behaving in a marketplace, compared to some young human children. That's when I realized that it had gone too far." She looked straight at her mother and said, "One of the reasons I came back was to ask you for some advice on child rearing. We, Inuyasha and I, need to come up with a plan, **_before_** we return home to deal with Shippo."

At this, her mother opened her mouth to reply, stopped, and visibly changed what she was going to say, "Well, I'll see if I can find any of my old books tonight that might help. You can take a look at them and see if anything in them might apply. Tomorrow, you can go to the mall and check out the book stores for any other books that might help."

"Oi, what's this 'mall' thing? How long do you plan on staying here, Kagome? I don't want to waste any time," Inuyasha growled.

Mrs. Higurashi shook her head and said, "Kagome, why don't you explain what a mall is to Inuyasha. I'm going to find Sota, and send him to bed." As she left the room, she turned back and said, "Kagome, do you plan on going to school tomorrow? It'll be Saturday and you could catch up in the morning and go to the mall afterwards."

"Hm, that might work out good. I'll let you know at breakfast if I'm going to school or shopping."

"Alright then, I will see you two in the morning," she said as she left the room, closing the door part way as she left.

"So what's a 'mall'?" He asked after she left.

Sitting back down on her cushion, Kagome picked up her brush and began brushing her hair out again. "A 'mall' is a very large building, with a group of stores that sell different things. Because it's out of the weather, shopping is more convenient when it is raining or cold; and because there are many different types of shops, it is easy to find whatever you need in one place."

Frowning, Inuyasha asked, "What kind of things can you buy at this mall? Can you get food there? Clothes? Weapons?"

"Well, of course you can get food and clothes at a mall! As far as weapons go, I think you can find knives and maybe swords, but I don't think you can buy guns," she replied.

"Well, how far away is it? If you go to your school in the morning, will we be able get there tomorrow?" He asked impatiently.

"It's not far at all. Maybe ten minutes walk to the subway station, and then another twenty minutes on the subway. If you want, we can eat lunch before going or buy something to eat once we get to the mall." She gasped and said, "Oh Kami-sama, I have to ask mama if I can get some money from my bank account tomorrow, and I think the banks close at noon. Arrgh!"

"What the hell is a 'bank account'? If you need money, why didn't you say anything before we left Kaede's? I would've brought some along; Miroku has plenty stashed with Kaede." Inuyasha frowned at her, "I'll go back and get some in the morning."

"Um, I don't think that money from the Sengoku Jidai can be used in my time, Inuyasha. But don't worry; I've got more than enough saved up in my bank account for us to go shopping. I just need to ask my mom to go to the bank while I'm at school, that's all."

He continued to frown as she went on to describe the different types of stores that were in the mall and how it could sometimes be really crowded and busy. As she spoke, he thought to himself '_I never thought about whether it cost her to bring stuff back through the well. Baka! Of course it costs money. Did you think Ramen and all of her medicines were free! Gah! She shouldn't be paying for the food that you eat, you stupid…that's _**your**_ responsibility, not hers! You're the pack leader, not her, you should be taking care of her!'_ Shocked, he repeated his thought _'Pack leader! Why did I think 'Pack Leader', I'm too young to be a pack leader!'_

Stunned by that thought, he sat there, motionless, while she continued with her description of what shopping in her time was like. When she finally paused and looked up at him, he shook off his distraction and answered her, "Keh, sounds like it could be interesting, but I think we should have lunch here before we go off to that 'mall' thing, okay?"

Kagome looked at him as if he had just said something really strange, and asked, "Inuyasha, did you even hear what I was saying? I asked if you would mind trying on some modern cloths so that you could blend in with modern people. What in the world were you thinking about so hard?"

"Feh, it doesn't matter. I'll tell you later, now what's this about modern clothes?" he replied.

"Are you sure? You looked really out of it," she said, with a concerned look on her face.

"Feh, of course I'm sure, there's nothing wrong with me, wench," was his gruff response.

"Okay, then. Mama said we could look in the storeroom downstairs for some clothes that might fit you. Once we have some clothes for tomorrow, I'll buy some of your own while we are at the mall."

Leading the way down the stairs, Kagome headed for the storeroom at the back of the house. Stopping to let her eyes adjust to the darkness outside, she felt Inuyasha step up next to her and then ask, "Where do we go now?"

"Around the back, just give me a minute to let my eyes adjust, okay?"

He shrugged, and said, "Sure, tonight it's harder for me to see, too. Although, all the lights from the city help."

After waiting for two or three minutes, Kagome led off towards the storeroom at the back of her house. Unlocking the door with the key she had picked up from next to the kitchen door, she opened it and turned on the overhead light. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to some boxes stacked on the shelf on the right side of the room.

"I think that some of these should fit," she said, opening the first box and pulling out a couple of pairs of dark blue pants and some odd looking shirts. Holding one of gray shirts up to his chest, she asked, "Could you hold your arms out at your sides please?" As he did, she placed the shirt up against his body to see if it would fit. Satisfied that the shirt was about the right size, she looked at the blue jeans in her hand and tried to figure out how to see if it would be likely to fit Inuyasha without being able to see his legs. Blushing at the sights her imagination was providing her, Kagome finally picked out three different sizes of pants, including a pair of bright red sweat pants.

Looking into several different boxes, Kagome finally found a pair of sandals that looked like they would fit the hanyou's feet, although he didn't look very happy at the thought of wearing anything on his feet.

Unable to resist his curiosity any longer, Inuyasha asked Kagome, "Oi, who do these clothes belong to, eh? They look too big for your brother or the old man."

Pausing as she was folding the clothes neatly into a pile, she looked up at the young hanyou standing next to her. Sighing, she picked up the pile of clothes and simply said, "My father."

"Your…father's?" he repeated, surprised at her words, and the feelings that they stirred inside him.

"Yes…you don't mind, do you?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, of course not. It's just that, well, you've never talked about your father, that's all," Inuyasha replied. "It just didn't occur that you still had his clothes."

"Mama kept most of his things here in the storeroom after he…died. I don't think she could bear to part with anything of his," Kagome paused and turned off the light as they left the room. Locking the door, she let him guide her back to the kitchen door in the dark before speaking up again. "It's okay, mama suggested that I see if any of his stuff would fit you. I think that she likes the idea of his stuff being useful again, not just given away or even thrown away.

As they came into the kitchen, Mrs. Higurashi was sitting at the table, leafing through one of several books that she had stacked up in front of her.

"Hi, mama. I found some clothes that I think will fit Inuyasha, I'm just going to run them through the laundry with some of my stuff before I go to bed tonight."

Looking at the two standing in her kitchen, Mrs. Higurashi smiled and said, "Of course, Kagome. Oh, before you go upstairs, I have a couple of books that you might find helpful when dealing with Shippo, take a look through them tonight before you go to sleep."

"Thanks, mama, these will be a big help," Kagome answered with a big smile. "Oh, that reminds me, I'm going to need some money for shopping tomorrow. Could you withdraw some money from my bank account for me in the morning. I'm going to be in school until after the bank closes, and I don't have an ATM card for my account."

Smiling at her daughter, she said, "Of course I will, how much do you think you will need for tomorrow? 10,000 yen?"

Kagome shook her head, "No, I think we'll need at least 20,000, I really want to stock up on some workbooks and art supplies for Shippo; I also want to restock the first aid kit before we go back home." As she was talking to her mother, she was also putting the clothes she had picked out for Inuyasha into the washing machine along with some of her clothes out of her backpack. Because of this, she missed the look of fear that flashed across her mother's face that was quickly replaced by her usual gentle smile.

After starting the washing machine, she walked over to the table and asked, "Are these the books you wanted me to look through tonight?"

"Yes. Don't worry about transferring the clothes; I'll take care of that before I go to bed. The two of you should go on up and get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be busy day," Mrs. Higurashi said.

"Okay, mama, we'll see you in the morning. G'night!" she called as she went up the stairs, followed by Inuyasha.

"Goodnight, you two," she called up after them.

As she heard the bedroom doors close upstairs, Mrs. Higurashi lay her head down on her crossed arms and began to quietly weep for her daughter.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Author's Note: I had some problems with my settings, so I wasn't receiving any reviews. Hopefully, any and all, signed and unsigned reviews will come through now.

_Sirei_: Yes, I have taken some of the ideas in "Present Time" as inspiration. Since nothing hurts more than to get 'almost' to the end of a story, and then be left hanging, I decided to write my own. It's NOT the same world…at all: but I did like some of her ideas, very much.

Chapter 6 

The next morning, Kagome was awakened by the ringing of the alarm clock on the table next to her bed. Rolling out of her bed, she shook her head as she studied the remains of her alarm clock, which she had apparently just thrown at the wall.

"Gah. I can't believe I did that. Oh, well, I guess I'll have to pick up another one this afternoon," she muttered as she got dressed in her school uniform for the first time in almost two weeks. Running a brush through her hair, she tied it back away from her face and headed out the door towards the kitchen.

Pausing outside Inuyasha's door, she started to knock when she realized that he was already downstairs in the kitchen. Shrugging, she continued on down to breakfast. As she walked into the kitchen she saw her mother making breakfast and Inuyasha and Sota sitting at the table talking together, or rather, Sota was talking, and Inuyasha was listening, with a glazed look in his eyes, to Sota's description of the intricacies of Pokemon and YuGiOh. Carefully resisting the urge to laugh, she sat down next to Inuyasha and interrupted Sota's excited chatter by asking Inuyasha if he had slept well. At his look of relief for the interruption, she smiled and started asking Sota what he had been doing while she was gone.

After about ten minutes of listening to Sota skillfully mimicking some of the latest visitors to the Sunset Shrine, both Kagome and Inuyasha were smiling and chuckling as they began eating their breakfast. Just as they finished eating, Jii-chan came in and sat down, eyeing the half-demon suspiciously and abruptly asked, "Just how long do you plan on staying this time, demon?"

Watching Inuyasha's ears flatten down, then spring back up, Kagome held back a sigh, but spoke up, "Grandpa, I invited Inuyasha to stay. Mama said it was okay, and he's staying until I'm ready to go back to the Sengoku Jidai, all right? Could you please at least try to be polite to him? Please?" She looked straight at her grandfather until he finally nodded his agreement, at which she point she relaxed and rewarded him with her brightest smile.

Watching her, Inuyasha kept his face expressionless only with the greatest of effort, the shock of watching Kagome actually standing up to her **_grandfather!_** for him…a hanyou…was staggering. Even after all the time they had spent together, he could hardly believe what he had just seen. It wasn't the first time she had defended him to other humans; it seemed like she did it every time they entered a new village or town; someone would make some stupid comment about filthy demons corrupting pure humans—and then Kagome would cut them to pieces with just a look, or even a few words about stupidity being no excuse for bad manners, and they would stammer and fidget until either they left or apologized for offending her. But still…this was her family!

After breakfast was finished, Sota and Kagome grabbed their school bags and left for school. Mrs. Higurashi cleared away the breakfast dishes and Jii-chan left to attend to his shrine duties. After a few minutes, Inuyasha spoke up.

"Kagome's mother, I'm going back through the well this morning; I want to get something before we go to the 'mall' after lunch. If I'm late, don't let Kagome leave before I get back, okay?"

Startled, she looked over at the hanyou sitting at the table. "Of course, I'll let her know as soon as she comes home from school. Do you think you will be very long, if you do, I can drive the two of you to the mall after dinner tonight," she offered.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha said, "No, I should be back in plenty of time, before she comes back from school. It's just in case I'm delayed, that's all."

"Alright, then. You can try on your modern clothes when you return," she said, pointing a stack of neatly folded clothes on top of the dryer.

"Keh," was his only response as he left the kitchen, closing the door behind him as he left.

Loping over to the Well, he slid the doors open, entered, closed them again and leaped into the well and let the violet light carry him 500 years into the past.

Landing at the bottom of the well, he jumped easily up onto the forest floor. Pausing a moment to test the air for any dangerous or unknown scents, he leapt into the tree tops and headed into the hills on the far side of his forest as fast as he could travel.

After about an hour at his top speed, he was in a section of very rugged hills and ravines that was far from any human or youkai habitation. Choosing his path with great care, Inuyasha bounded from boulder top to boulder top, making sure to leave no visible traces of his passage. At last he stopped in front of a large, disk shaped boulder.

Looking around and testing the air carefully before he did anything else, Inuyasha finally grabbed the edge of the rock and pulled it away from a small opening in the side of the hill. With one last look around, he bent down and entered the hole.

Scurrying down the low tunnel for about 10 feet, he at last stood up inside a small cave. The cave was illuminated by 4 small glowing blue stones set into the walls of the cave. The cave was only about 8 or 9 feet across and maybe twice that in length. It was furnished with a dusty futon, a couple of sitting cushions and a small table. Next to the table was a large wooden chest.

Opening the chest, Inuyasha stared down at the few things that he had ever owned. Ignoring the scrolls and toys that had been given to him when he was just a pup, he picked up a small, lacquered box and took it back to one of the cushions where he sat down and opened the box.

Looking at the contents for a few moments, he finally pulled out a gold necklace, set with different colored stones, a pair of matching earrings and 3 rings. As he was closing the box, he changed his mind and grabbed a long strand of white pearls as well. Putting the box back in the wooden chest, he stripped the silk cover from one of the scrolls, and put the jewelry he had chosen into the now empty bag, tied it closed and stuffed it inside his haori for safe keeping.

Taking a small pouch from the table, Inuyasha left the cave, exited the tunnel, and covered it over with the large rock. Once he was finished, he opened the pouch, pulled out a pinch of powder and scattered it over the boulder. As the powder settled, the boulder and the surrounding dirt shimmered and then settled down, leaving no sign that they had ever been disturbed.

Carefully backtracking away from his cave, he scattered the powder whenever he needed to eliminate any evidence of his passage. Finally, at the edge of the rough hills, he put the pouch away inside his haori and headed back to the Bone-Eater's Well, and the girl he had left waiting 500 years in the future.

Arriving at the Well, Inuyasha saw, to his irritation, that Shippo was sitting on edge. Waiting.

Inuyasha landed right next to him without any warning and the little kitsune jumped up into the air and squeaked, "Eeep!" Landing on the ground, he shouted, "Where were you? Where's Kagome?"

"Oww! Stop shouting, you little…" grabbing Shippo by his tail, Inuyasha started to bop him on the head, but stopped himself and dropped Shippo to the ground instead. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly and answered almost calmly, "I had to go and get some things to use in Kagome's time, and Kagome is at her school right now."

"Well, when is she coming back, you big jerk? You better not make her mad!" Shippo said, still upset from his unexpected arrival.

Grinding his teeth, Inuyasha remembered the things Kagome and he had been talking about and held on to his temper, "I'm not going to make her mad. I'm going back to **_help_** her. Remember? She asked me to help her with some things?"

"Oh. Yeah, I forgot." Looking up at the older hanyou, he frowned at him, "Are you okay? Why did you come back, then?"

His pulse starting to pound, Inuyasha said, "I just told you why I came back! Don't you even listen to the answers to your own questions?" Placing a hand on the side of the Well, he prepared to leap down when Shippo hesitantly said, "I'm sorry. I just miss her."

Turning his head to look at the little kitsune, Inuyasha sighed at the sad look on his face, and said, "I know. I'll tell her that I saw you and that you're missing her, but she's got things she has to take care of back in her time, too. She can't be here all the time, no matter what we want, okay? Don't worry, I'll bring her back soon." With that he leapt down into the Well.

Walking from the Well to the house, Inuyasha noticed a small group of people entering the main shrine. After watching them for a moment, he shrugged and went on in to the house. In the kitchen, Mrs. Higurashi was getting ready to leave, her coat on and keys in her hand. Looking surprised at his return, she simply asked, "Back so soon? I hope you were able to find what you needed alright?"

He nodded and said, "Yeah, I got what I needed, but I, um…" pausing, not knowing how to ask for her help, he tried again. "Um, Kagome told me once that the money we use in the Sengoku Jidai doesn't work here, so I brought some things that I thought, maybe she could use them instead, or maybe she could sell them or something. Here." Blushing as he spoke, he ducked his head and handed her the bag that he had fetched from his cave.

Puzzled, she turned the bag over in her hands a few times, before she opened it and emptied it out onto the kitchen table. Gasping, she said, "Oh my! These are beautiful. Wherever did you get them?" Sorting them out on the table, she looked up to see that Inuyasha's face was still covered by his bangs.

"They belonged to my mother. They were a part of her dowry. After she died, they came to me."

"I see. What is it you want me to do with them?" she asked.

He shrugged uncomfortably, then said, "I hoped that, maybe, you could use these instead of Kagome taking her money out of her," he frowned, trying to remember, "…bank account? Is that right? Bank account?"

"Yes, it's called a bank account. But why do you want to sell your mothers jewelry? It must mean a lot to you," she said, trying to understand what he was getting at.

"Not really, she didn't like to wear jewelry very much. Besides, it's my responsibility to provide, not Kagome's, even in this time." He shook his head as she opened her mouth to respond, "Please, just use them, okay." With that, he whirled and headed up the stairs in a blur of red and silver.

Confused by the whole conversation, she sighed, separated the necklace and matching earrings, returned the rest of the jewelry to the silk bag, and dropped it into a drawer next to the sink. Taking a zip lock bag from a box in the same drawer, she placed the jewelry set inside, and put it in her purse.

Leaving the house, she went around to the back of the shrine, got into her car and drove off to take care of her morning errands.

Reaching his room, Inuyasha closed the door and dropped down onto the futon and closed his eyes, trying to relax from the stress of being out of his own time and then asking Kagome's mother for help.

A few minutes later, he sighed and opened his eyes and sat up. Across the room on the table was the pile of folded cloths that Kagome had picked out for him to wear today. Making a face, he walked over to the table and looked at the strange clothing. Sighing, he gave in to the inevitable, and started undressing.

After about 30 minutes of trial and error, which thankfully, no one else was there to witness, he was finally dressed in modern clothing. Putting on the sandals was probably the worst part, since he hadn't worn anything on his feet since before his mother had died. Grabbing the black hat from the table, he put it on the way he had seen Sota wear one, making sure that it covered his ears, and went downstairs to wait for Kagome to get back from school.

After about 15 minutes of fidgeting in the living room, he finally gave up and went outside to wait for Kagome.

Walking over to the Go-Shim-Boku, he prepared to leap into the branches when he noticed the same people he had seen entering the shrine earlier, standing outside the shrine door, watching him. He stared back at them until the old man came out of the shrine doors, noticed what they were doing, and said something that had them all nodding happily as they headed for the steps leading down to the street.

After they had left, he jumped up to his favorite perch and settled down to wait for Kagome's return.

That morning, for Kagome, going back to school was especially difficult. In addition to turning in all of her completed assignments, arranging to take 2 makeup tests, and trying to follow along with her class covering new material; she was having second (or third) thoughts about taking Inuyasha shopping at the mall—the potential for disaster was mind boggling.

In the end, she managed to get through her school day without any major headaches, other than the one she knew she was going get when she tried to convince Inuyasha to let her stay until Tuesday, so that she could take both of the retests AND a new biology test, which was on material she hadn't even seen yet!

As she left school, her friends, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi joined her. As they caught up, Eri asked, "Would you like to stop for some lunch? We could have Wacdonalds or MosBurger."

Kagome looked over and shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry, I need to go straight home for lunch. I have to go out this afternoon to pick up some things for my mom, so I can't today."

"Oh, that's too bad, it's been a long time since we've seen you except at school," Yuka said. Ayumi, who had been looking back over her shoulder, turned around and said excitedly, "Kagome, there's Hojo, why don't you see if he could go with you to do your mom's errands. He'd love to help you carry stuff!"

"What? Ayumi, don't you dare call him over here!" The thought of her bringing Hojo home, and telling Inuyasha that 'Gee, I changed my mind, Hojo is going to the mall with me,' was enough to make her blood run cold. "Hojo is NOT my boyfriend, I don't want him to be my boyfriend, and I really wish you would stop trying to push us together! He's a nice boy, but he's not my type, okay," she said, hoping that THIS time, they would actually listen to what she was saying, and stop setting her up.

"Oh, that's okay, Kagome, I'm sure he wouldn't mind going with you this afternoon," Yuka added as she looked over to where Hojo was walking.

At this, Kagome came to a complete stop, staring at her friends in disbelief. After a few steps, they realized that she was no longer with them, and turned around to see Kagome red-faced with anger, her fists clenched at her sides. Shocked at the sudden change, they watched as she closed her eyes and began breathing slowly and carefully, obviously trying to get herself under control. Finally, she spoke, "Did I just start speaking in some weird, alien language? Didn't I just tell you that I was not interested in him? Have I finally gone mute?"

Eri and Yuka exchanged knowing looks and walked back to where Kagome was standing, hooked an arm into each of hers and started back down the sidewalk. Eri spoke first, "Okay, since you obviously don't want to go out with Hojo, who are you interested in? Is it the same one you were seeing before, you know the 'jerk', come on, you can tell us?"

Yuka followed up with, "Is the he the one who was 'two-timing' you? I thought you were going to dump him?"

Kagome just sighed at her friends, she really didn't know what to tell them. There was no easy way to explain Inuyasha to them; besides, as long as Kikyo was around, she couldn't really say that he was 'her' boyfriend. Finally, she just shook her head and said, "Look, it's complicated and some of it's not mine to tell, so all I can say is that he has good reasons for doing what he does, and that I'm okay with it; I made my choice, and I'll stand by it, no matter what."

At this, her friends didn't know what to say, so after a moment they changed the subject from boys to the latest movies they had seen. Kagome relaxed and enjoyed listening to them, although she didn't have much to add, since she hadn't actually gone to a movie in almost six months. A couple of blocks from the shrine, Ayumi and Yuka turned off to head towards their homes, and Kagome and Eri continued on towards the shrine in silence. As they approached the shrine steps, Eri cleared her throat and asked tentatively, "Um, Kagome, could you at least tell me his name?"

Kagome looked at her, not sure what she was talking about, then as she realized that she wanted to know the name of her 'boyfriend', she blushed.

"I, um, I don't know what you're talking about," she said, unconvincingly.

"Sure, you don't. Come on, what's his name," she demanded mercilessly. "Why won't tell me his name?" She gasped, and asked, "He's—He's not m-married is he? Oh, sweet Kami! Kagome!"

"What? Of course he's not married! He would never…!" She looked at Eri's expression of horrified concern, and started to giggle. "Okay, okay. I give; his name is Inuyasha, all right. Sheesh, you are something else, girl. Married!" As she started up the steps, two at time, she looked back and called out, "I'll see you on Monday morning, Eri, have a good weekend!"

Still laughing at Eri's assumption, she ran towards the house, until she noticed Inuyasha wasn't in the house, but rather over by the Go-Shim-Boku. Turning that way, she looked for him on his favorite branch, but at first didn't notice him, because she was looking for his usual bright red outfit, and the clothes he was wearing tended to blend in to the tree.

"Hi, Inuyasha, I'm back. Come on down and I'll make some lunch for us," she called up to him, when she was under the tree. He looked down at her, then jumped down right next to her. Once he was next to her, Kagome got her first good look at him dressed in modern clothes. He was wearing a dark green polo shirt and dark blue jeans; on his head he was wearing a black baseball hat to cover his ears, and a pair of sandals on his feet. As she stared at him, her eyes traveled up and down his form, slowly taking in every detail. '_Wow! Who would have guessed that he would look sooo nice in modern clothes? Oh, my! He looks really, really nice. It's too bad he normally covers it up in that loose outfit.'_ she thought to herself. After a minute, Inuyasha started to fidget nervously, until he asked, "Is something wrong, I thought I got it on the right way?"

'_Eeek! I was staring at him! I can't believe I was staring at him!'_ "No, no! There's nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing. You did everything right. In fact, you did it great! You look just fine, really," pausing, she looked him up and down again and said, under her breath, "really, really fine." Turning to go back to the house, she missed the smile that appeared on his face as he heard her talking to herself.

When Kagome and Inuyasha came into the kitchen, Mrs. Higurashi was serving lunch to Sota and Jii-chan, with places set for Kagome and Inuyasha as well. Sitting down to soup and stir-fry, they listened to Sota talk about his plans to play on his school's soccer team in the spring, and how he wanted to go over to his friends' house for the afternoon.

After everyone had eaten, Sota took off for his friends' house, and Kagome helped her mother with the dishes. Inuyasha wandered off to the living room and started playing with Buyo, holding a piece of string he had found over the cat's head and teasing him. About ten minutes later, Kagome and her mother came in and sat down on the sofa.

"Kagome, I went to the bank and withdrew some of your money, as you asked. I also arranged for an ATM card for your account, so if you need more, you can get it for yourself," her mother explained, as she handed her an envelope filled with yen, as well as an ATM card. "Your PIN is your birth date, month and day, without the year."

"Thank you, mama. This will be great!" She began to get up to get her purse when her mother turned to Inuyasha and said, "Inuyasha, I took the necklace and earrings to a friend of Jii-chan's who owns a jewelry store. He didn't have enough cash on hand to pay for them, so I opened an account at our bank in the name of Higurashi Inuyasha, and he deposited the remainder in the form of a check. Here is your ATM card," she handed him a card just like the one she had given to Kagome, "and your PIN is the same as Kagome's. This is the portion that he could pay in cash." She gave Inuyasha another envelope like the one she had given to Kagome, only thicker.

He looked at the items that she had just given him with a puzzled look on his face. He looked up and said, "Uh, thank you. Um," turning to Kagome, he now had a look of almost panic on his face as he said, "Kagome, could you…" he held the envelope and card out to her and silently mouthed, "Help?"

Kagome walked back into the room and sat down next to him, while her mother got up and left, saying that she had some other things to take care of.

Kagome waited until her mother was out of earshot, then asked, "What did you do while I was at school, Inuyasha? Where did you get any jewelry, and why did you want mama to sell it? You can't use yen back in the Sengoku Jidai, you know. And why did you want a bank account?" she asked, puzzled by all of his actions.

He was still looking uncomfortable with the ATM card and envelope of money, so Kagome took them from him and put them in her lap while she waited for him to answer. Finally he said, "I went back through the well after breakfast, and went to my cave and got some of my mother's jewelry. I gave it to your mother and asked if she thought it could be sold for some of your modern money." He stopped and looked away for a moment, then back at Kagome, "It's not right that you should be using your money to buy all of the modern things that you bring back to us." He reached out and touched her cheek with his fingers, "You give everything to help us, and you never complain, but enough is enough. I want, no I **_will _**help pay for the things we all use." Kagome started to speak, but he shook his head and continued, "I should be providing for you, Kagome, not you for me," he grimaced, "I always talk about how I can take care of myself, how I don't need anybody's help, but you know what? Lately, I've been letting you take care of me…you bring your pack, filled with your clothes and books and first aid supplies…and food. You have been feeding all of us for months now. Do you have any idea how much of an idiot I feel like?"

Kagome finally broke in, "Inuyasha, it's okay! I don't mind, it's more important that we can keep looking for the jewel shards, and Naraku. It doesn't cost that much to buy ramen and the other stuff, please don't take it like that. I don't mind…"

"I mind, damn it! You're absolutely right about Shippo, but you know what? I'm right about this! Okay?" He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Continuing in a softer voice, he said, "I do want you to explain how this money stuff works here, and show me how to use that card thingy, but maybe it should wait until later. I think that for now we should just go to this mall thing, okay?"

Kagome looked like she wanted to continue the discussion, but she sighed and said "Okay. Let me go up and get my purse and then we can go." Standing up, she led the way upstairs. She went into her room and Inuyasha went into his. When she came out, he was waiting for her, with a different hat on and on his back was…

"Inuyasha! You can't take Tetsusaiga to the mall!" She said, her eyes wide.

"What are you talking about, wench? You know I take Tetsusaiga everywhere. Why would I leave it behind today? That's crazy!"

"Crazy? If you take Tetsusaiga with you, the police will arrest you and confiscate the sword!" she said, almost panicked at the thought of Inuyasha fighting the police.

"So? Do you honestly think I should leave it here? What if we're attacked at this mall? What then?" he snarled back, his voice rising at the thought of not being able to defend her.

"But, you can't…" she started to shout back, when her mother interrupted.

"Children! What in the world are you fighting about?"

Whirling around, they saw Kagome's mother standing at the top of the stairs, with her hands on her hips, a stern look on her face.

Both of them dropped their eyes, and didn't say anything.

"Well? You certainly had something to say earlier. Would either of you like to explain it to me? Quietly, if you please," she said, her stern look easing a bit.

Biting her lip, Kagome spoke up "Uh, Inuyasha wants to take Tetsusaiga to the mall with us, and I told him that the police would try to arrest him and take his sword away. And, well, he insists on bringing Tetsusaiga."

Looking at Inuyasha, Mrs. Higurashi asked, "Is that correct, Inuyasha?"

Looking stubborn, he nodded, then added "I need to have Tetsusaiga in case we're attacked."

Sighing, she looked back and forth between the stubborn youths. "How about a compromise? We can place Tetsusaiga in a tube and cover it with packing paper. Then you can carry it with you, but no one will realize what it is. And if you are attacked, which I highly doubt, it shouldn't take more than a second for you to take it out and use it. Do you think this work?"

Although Inuyasha looked as if he had bitten something sour, he nodded and said, "Feh," Kagome smiled and replied, "Thanks, mama! That would be just fine, I'll get the paper and stuff right now."

Running down the stairs, she gave her mother a quick hug as she passed, before going down into the kitchen. Inuyasha sighed, and followed her downstairs while Kagome's mother went on to her own room.

Ignoring his frown, Kagome stuffed Tetsusaiga into a large cardboard tube, covered it in plain brown paper, using plenty of clear packing tape to make sure it was secured. As a crowning touch, she used a black marker to write Inuyasha's name and address on the paper to make sure that it was obviously his.

Once she was finished she handed Inuyasha Tetsusaiga and said, "Here, now it's safely out of sight, and right in your hands, Okay?" Picking up her purse, she put the scissors, tape, and paper away in the cupboard and headed out the door, Inuyasha right behind her.

As they walked down the shrine steps and up the street to the subway station, Inuyasha fiddled with his package, trying to find the most comfortable way of carrying it. Eventually, he settled for just holding it in his left hand, the tube crumpled slightly to make a more comfortable grip.

As they approached the subway station, Kagome tried to explain what to expect once they entered. How it would be pretty crowded with people, and how they would be riding inside the subway cars, and that she wanted him to stay right next to her, so that they wouldn't get separated.

Even with her attempts to prepare him, Inuyasha was still shocked at the number of people inside the station. _'I can't believe how many people are crammed in here! And the smell! Ugh! It's like something is really, really sweet…and rotting at the same time!'_

Growling, his eyes snapped back and forth as he followed Kagome over to a wall where she put some of her money into a slot and then watched as she pulled two little cards out of another slot. Handing him one of them, she pulled him off to one side and she began explaining what the card was, and how to use it.

"When you want to ride on the subway, you use one of these cards to go through the gate," pointing to where people where filing though openings in the low wall, "see how they slide the card into that slot on top, then push through the turnstile?" Inuyasha watched as each person slid the card part way into the top of the wall, then pulled it out and pushed against the bar that was blocking the way. He noticed that as each person pushed the bar away, another one swung up behind them, stopping the next person until they used their card as well.

Looking at the card that Kagome had given him, he saw a big arrow at one end, some strange writing on it that looked both familiar and strange, and a shiny black stripe on the back. Turning it over in his hands, he finally asked, "Why do you need to use this card thingy? Why don't people just jump over the wall? It's not high enough to stop anyone, except maybe small children."

Kagome smiled at him, happy to see him being openly curious. "Well, when I bought the cards, you know, back at the wall over there, I paid 1500 yen for each one. You use the card to get to the subway train, and again after reaching your destination, you use it to pass through another turnstile again. When you exit, the fare is automatically deducted from your card. Depending on how long you stay on the subway, more or less yen will be deducted. It's easier, and faster, than buying a ticket every time you want use the subway."

Looking at the card again, he said, "So, this card has money inside it, right? And that gate, the 'turnstile' thing, it takes money out of the card when you want to ride this 'subway'. How do you now it won't cheat you?" He sniffed at the card and frowned at her, "I can tell if a human is trying to charge too much, because they get nervous, but this thing just smells like…nothing, really." He looked over the wall to where people were waiting for the next train. "And how do you know where it's going?"

She smiled at the idea of a transit passcard cheating, but said, "The machines **_can't_** cheat you. They can only take the correct amount of money, based on where you enter the subway and where you leave it."

Kagome grabbed his hand and pulled him over to another wall, in front of a large colorful diagram of the subway system. "This is a map showing where the subway trains go," pointing at a large black dot, she said, "this dot shows where we are right now, see the arrow pointing to it? We want to ride on the blue line to the North Station." Pointing to another, smaller black dot, she continued, "Each little dot is a subway station on this route. If you count each dot," tapping each one as she spoke, "you'll see that we want the sixth stop after leaving here. When we come back, we will do the same thing, only in reverse, okay?"

Inuyasha traced the route she had pointed out with one of his claws and then nodded at her and said, "Okay. When do we get on the train, and how long will it take to get to the mall?"

"About five or ten minutes; the trains come by quite often during the day. Once we get onboard, it will take less than thirty minutes to get to the mall, alright?" she asked.

"Feh," was his only response.

Kagome lead the way through the turnstile, watching nervously as Inuyasha used his card, and passed through to join her next to the tracks.

"Come on, I usually wait for the train up by the front." Taking his hand in hers, she walked through the crowded platform, until they reached the edge right next to a large square pillar. As she stopped to wait for the next train, Inuyasha shifted around until her back was to the pillar, and he was between her and the crowd. While they waited, he kept his eyes open and moving across the crowd, looking for any possible threats. After a few minutes, he heard a low rushing sound coming towards them, but before he could figure out what it was, Kagome stepped up next to him and said, "Good, here comes our train," looking at him, she added, "remember to stay right next to me, it'll be even more crowded once we get on, alright?"

"Don't worry, Kagome. I'm not letting anything get between us." As he finished speaking, a large, white train came into the station and stopped right in front of them. Grabbing his hand again, she moved with the crowd into the open door in front of them, and grabbed a hold of a pole that ran from floor to ceiling, and said, "Hold on tight, we'll be moving in a few seconds."

As the train began to move, Inuyasha snarled at one of the passengers, who was bumping into Kagome, moving closer, he wrapped his arms around her and shifted her away from the other passengers, while continuing to glare at everyone near.

Kagome gasped as he drew her into the safety of his arms, but relaxed almost immediately and just enjoyed the feeling of being so close to Inuyasha for the rest of the trip.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. I hope to update regularly, but I can't promise a firm schedule.

Chapter 7 

Exiting the subway station 20 minutes later, Kagome and Inuyasha walked down the block and across the street, until they reached the entrance to a very large, downtown mall.

As they entered the busy mall, Kagome lead him over to a mall directory, which she explained was used to help people find where the different shops were located. As she was finding the first 3 stores she wanted to visit, she said, "Inuyasha, the first place we need to go to, has luggage and bags and stuff like that. I think we can get something better to carry Tetsusaiga in, than a shipping tube. After that, I want to go to the bookstore and try to pick up some books to take back to…I mean, back with us." Looking around at all of the people bustling nearby, she thought to herself '_I need to watch what I say. It wouldn't do for anyone else to figure out what we do.' _

Walking down the wide, central passage of the mall, Inuyasha stayed next to Kagome, slightly behind her and to the right, so he could keep a close eye on her, and still watch for any threats. Stopping in front of one of the shops, Kagome said, "Let's start here and see if we can find a good bag, okay?" Inuyasha wrinkled his nose as he smelled a strong scent of leather goods coming from inside the store. Following Kagome inside, he was amazed at the number and variety of leather bags and other items. Some were bags similar to Kagome's backpack, but smaller; there were belts, hats, sandals, pouches and some items that he couldn't really tell what they were for. While he followed Kagome around the store, she searched until she found a long narrow bag that was pretty solid and had a carrying strap that could be worn over the shoulder.

At her urging, Inuyasha placed Tetsusaiga into the bag, closed the zipper, and slung it over his shoulder. Adjusting and tightening the strap until it was hanging comfortably, he finally smiled at Kagome and said, "I like this one, it'll be fine. Do we need anything else?"

"Yeah, I want to pick up a couple more things here, okay?"

"Feh," was his only response, as he continued following her around the shop. She kept showing him different items and asking him if he thought they looked good, but even though his responses were limited to bored sounding grunts, she kept smiling and seemed to be happy. At last, she had picked out four large pouches on leather belts, a similar, though much smaller pouch, two flat leather folders with pads of paper inside, a zippered pouch filled with small shiny tools, and a wallet with a dog's head carved into the front. Taking out one of the envelopes from her purse, Kagome handed over a large portion of the money inside to pay for her selections.

As she went up to pay the person running the store, the 'clerk?' at least that's what he thought she had called him, Inuyasha decided to pay close attention to how she used these pieces of paper to pay for things; he wanted to be able to do it himself, and he hated it when other people could do things that he couldn't.

'_I don't know why these pieces of paper seem to worth anything, but if that's what they use instead of gold or silver, I guess I can use 'em too." _

Leaving the store, they walked on until they found an open bench to sit down on. Kagome opened the bag, pulled out the wallet and placed Inuyasha's ATM card and cash inside, before she put it into one of the belt pouches, which she then handed to Inuyasha and said, "Here, please put this on around your waist, that way your money and stuff will be safe and readily available for you. I think we should head over to the bookstore next, I want to look for some books to help deal with Shippo as well as some for my own use, okay?"

Looking down at her, he finished buckling the belt around his waist and replied, "Keh. Let's go." Holding out his hand to her, he helped her up and asked, "Which way, now?"

"This way," she said, pointing across the open area, "we have to go up to the second level. The stairs are inside the food court."

Inuyasha lifted his nose and sniffed a couple of times and said, "It smells pretty good, but I can't tell what they're cooking," he said, puzzled by the confusing mixture of scents.

Kagome giggled and said, "That's probably because they're not just cooking a couple of types of food up there. There are probably fifteen or twenty restaurants selling food. Maybe even more, and each of them is preparing a different type of food. That has got to be a pretty confusing mix."

Entering the crowded food court, Inuyasha was amazed at the number of people sitting, standing and moving around with their food. The confusion was incredible as they worked their way over to the stairs in the center of the food court, and climbed up to the second level of the mall. Moving away from the food area, they entered a large, well lit, bookstore. Kagome picked up a basket on her way through the doors, and looking around for a few seconds, went directly to a section in the back.

Amazed at the sight of all the different types of books, especially with the bright covers and vivid pictures, Inuyasha finally picked up a book at random and opened it up. With a great deal of concentration, he finally managed to figure out the strange shapes of the characters. It didn't look at all like the brush work that he had learned as a pup, but he managed to figure out the meaning of most of first page, and decided that he really didn't need to learn any more about 'Sibling Rivalry,' whatever that was. He didn't think that he would ever have any problems with something that sounded as stupid as that.

Leaning over Kagome's shoulder to see what she was reading, he found that this book was a bit easier to understand, it was talking about raising children and doing something called 'home schooling', what ever that might be. Looking into her basket, he saw that she had already put two other books in it.

"Hey, Kagome, what other kinds of books do you plan on getting here? Do you want me to look for anything while you are checking out that book?" Inuyasha asked sounding bored.

"Hm, sure, if you don't mind, you could pick out some workbooks or art books for him in the children's section, over there in the corner." She pointed over to an area decorated with bright colors and small animals.

Inuyasha looked at the spot she had pointed out, carefully scanned the store for any possible danger, and then nodded and said, "Okay, I'll see what I can find. When you finish here, come over there, alright?" She nodded at him with a smile, and went back to the book in her hands.

Inuyasha turned back to watch Kagome once he had reached the children's section, observing her for several minutes before he started looking through the huge selection of books on the shelves. Eventually, he found a section of workbooks that he thought might be what Kagome was looking for. He picked out four different books, one on simple reading and writing, one on basic adding and subtracting, one that had some simple stories, and the lady who worked for the store suggested the last, it was called 'Everything Your Pre-Schooler Needs to Know'. Stacking them together and placing them under his arm, he went back to where Kagome was reading. Unfortunately, she wasn't there.

'_Damn it, Kagome! Where the hell are you? I told you to…ARGGGH! I don't need this!_'

Looking around, he couldn't see her anywhere, so he decided to follow her scent, as it was quite fresh. Tracking her to the back of the store, he found the basket of books that she had been carrying on a little table outside two doors. Her scent seemed to be behind the one on the left, so he started to push the door open, when it pulled away from him, leaving him standing there with his hand out. Kagome squeaked in surprise at seeing him there, and asked, "Inuyasha, are you alright? Is something wrong?"

Growling, he said, "Yes, something is wrong! You were supposed to come to the children's section when you were done! Do you remember this? I couldn't see you anywhere!"

"But—but, I just had to go to the bathroom, I didn't leave or anything! What are you so upset about?" She answered, starting to get angry at being yelled at. "What is your…"

Dropping the books he had been carrying into her basket, he picked it up and grabbed her arm and pulled her back to the end of the hallway, out of sight of the rest of the store.

"Baka! How can I protect you when I can't even see you! This is no place to just wander off! There's way too many people around here, and I don't trust any of them to be smart enough not bother you!" As he continued to yell at her, although in a much quieter voice, Kagome realized that it wasn't that he was **_mad_ **at her, he was **_worried_** about her! He was actually worried about her, and she didn't think it had anything to do with her being his 'shard detector'. No, this was something else, something new. As he paused to draw another breath before continuing his tirade, Kagome broke in, "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I didn't think. It's just, well, I'm used to being alone when I'm on this side of the well. It's kinda hard to get used to **_not_** being alone anymore. I'll try to do better, okay?"

Inuyasha sighed and dropped his head down until their foreheads touched. "I'm sorry, too. I'm sorry I shouted at you. It's just that I couldn't find you, and…" he stopped, unable say anymore, he just closed his eyes. Kagome, touched by the feelings he clearly couldn't speak out loud, wrapped her arms around him, and said, "It's okay, I understand."

The two of them stood like that for several minutes, before they finally stepped back from each other. Kagome smiled and said, "Let's take a look at what you picked out, Inuyasha." Picking up the basket, she headed back into the main part of the bookstore, looking for a place to sit and check out their choices.

Eventually, she found a small, unoccupied sofa in the computer section of the store. Sitting down with Inuyasha, she started checking the books he had selected for Shippo. As she did, she was telling him about the books that she had picked out that she hoped would give her some ideas for dealing with the little boy. When she had finished, she said, "All we need now are some coloring books, crayons, and if I can find any, some good medical books." With that, she bounced up, took his hand and headed back to the children's section and picked out a dozen coloring books, and a large box of crayons.

The last items she picked out were two medical books, one on herbal treatments for a wide variety of problems, which included a full-color encyclopedia of the various plants used in the book; the second was a copy of the military's field manual for Special Forces medics. Her hope was that she could learn enough to at least follow the directions if she needed to treat any major injuries.

Taking their selections to the cashier, Kagome used the last of her cash to pay for the books. As they walked out, Kagome bit her lip and asked, "Um, Inuyasha, I need to restock the first aid kit, and…well, I just spent the last of my money, could you…um…"

Smirking a little, Inuyasha said, "Heh, that's why I asked your mother to sell that stuff. Of course you can use it, use as much as you need. And if you need more, well, I think that's what that ATM card thingy is for. Right?"

Collecting her bags into one hand, she hooked her other arm around Inuyasha's and walked back out into the mall with a contented smile on her face. After another twenty minutes in the pharmacy superstore, and about 15,000 yen poorer, Kagome had not only restocked her first aid kit, she had picked up a good supply of burn creams and antibiotic ointments to give to Kaede. As good as her herbal remedies were, some of the modern medicines were far better than anything she could make. As they left the store, Inuyasha asked if there were any more places that they needed to go to, before they could go back to the shrine. By this time, Inuyasha was carrying most of the packages in one hand, with his other hand occupied with holding Kagome's small hand.

"Well, I did want to pick up some clothes for you, that way you could have a better selection to things to wear while you are here. So, if you don't…" she started to say, when she was interrupted.

"Feh. The things you picked out for me are fine. I don't need any more."

"Are you sure, Inuyasha? It would only take 15 or 20 minutes," she said, trying to convince him to do just a little bit more shopping, since she was having such as nice time just being with Inuyasha, doing normal things. It was a nice break from searching for shards and fighting demons.

"No. We've got enough stuff, already. Let's go back to the shrine."

"Okay, then. If you change your mind later, just let me know." With that, she turned around and headed to the mall exit.

Leaving the mall, Inuyasha thought he caught a whiff of demon scent, but he couldn't be sure if it was inside or outside. As they walked down the street to the subway station, he kept testing the breeze to see if he could catch the scent again, but he didn't have any luck.

After they boarded the train, just as it was starting to pull out, both Inuyasha and Kagome saw a woman standing on the platform, looking right at Inuyasha, with a look of horror and disbelief on her face.

"What in the world was wrong with that woman, Inuyasha? She was staring at you as if she were looking at, well, a demon or something," Kagome started to giggle and leaning close, she whispered "If only she knew, right?"

Inuyasha smiled at her, but didn't answer. Unconcerned, Kagome just leaned up against her friend and let him hold her until it was time for them to get off at their stop.

Walking back beside Inuyasha, in the warm afternoon sunshine, Kagome was idly daydreaming about what she and Inuyasha could do for the rest of the afternoon, when she was abruptly brought back to reality by the sound of her friends' loud voices, "Kagome!" "Kagome, who is…!" coming from right behind her.

Grabbing a hold of Inuyasha's arm, she slowly turned her head to see that, yes, it really was Yuka, Ayumi, and Eri standing behind them, their faces showing expressions that ranged from amusement to shocked surprise at seeing their so-often ill friend, walking down the street with a hot-looking boy, whom they had never seen before.

"Well," said Yuka, "it looks like you finished those errands you told us about. So, why don't you introduce your friend?"

"Uh huh," echoed Ayumi, "I would love to know the name of the boy who stole you from Hojo," a hint of anger or upset, in her tone.

"Um, I think his name is Inuyasha," Eri spoke up, trying to fill in some of the awkwardness.

"Inuyasha?" Yuka and Ayumi said, in unison. "And how come you know his name?" Yuka added.

Gripping Inuyasha's arm tightly, Kagome finally spoke, "Probably, because I told her."

"Really? Why didn't you tell us his name, Kagome?" Yuka asked, feeling a little hurt that Kagome had not only kept this really hot looking boy a secret, but had told only Eri about him.

Sighing, Kagome realized that no matter what she said or did, her friends were going to feel hurt. All she could do was try to set everything out in the open and hope for the best. "Girls, I would like to introduce you to my very dear friend, Inuyasha. I know I haven't been completely open with you, but, well," she looked up at Inuyasha with a shy smile, "I really didn't want to have to try and explain how we met and everything." Looking back at her friends, she went on, "I met him on my 15th birthday and I would have to say that nothing has been the same since then."

Inuyasha barked out a short laugh and said, "Keh, we've got better things to do then try to explain, wench." Looking at her friends, and then back at Kagome, he tried to patient and offered, "Oi, give me that bag," pointing to the bag containing the belt pouches and other leather items, which was the only bag she was still carrying, "I'll take them up to your room. That way you can do that 'girl-thing' with them."

"'Girl thing'?" Kagome asked as she handed him the shopping bag. "Just what is that 'girl thing' Inuyasha?" She raised her eyebrow, but tried to restrain any smile, knowing that it would probably just embarrass him, and she had been far too happy with him today to want to do anything to ruin it.

"You know, like when you and Sango go off and…" He waved his hands, which were full of the results of their trip to the mall, around in the air, trying to describe something that he didn't have words for. Frustrated, he finally just turned and headed up the steps, letting out one last, "Feh!" as he went.

Kagome's friends stood at the bottom of the steps and watched Inuyasha reach the top and go out of sight before turning back to start their interrogation of Kagome. Kagome, on the other hand was watching her friends, nibbling on her lip, trying to decide what to tell her friends; somehow, she didn't think that they would believe the truth. Finally, she decided to just answer their questions as honestly as she could, **_without_** mentioning the well, or the Shikon No Tama.

With one concerted sigh, her three friends turned back to face her, but before any of them could speak, Kagome said, "Alright, let's go. I'll tell you all about him, but I need to tell my mom that I'm home first." With that, she started up the steps, her friends right behind her.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Author's Note: This chapter is for those who only 'stand and wait'. I/K will return (literally) in the next chapter.

Chapter 8 

Waking as the sun was just rising, Shippo looked at Kagome's empty futon sadly. Even though she had only been gone for one night, he was already missing the girl who had become like his second mother. Getting up, he grabbed a piece of fruit from a basket full of them next to the wall, but before he could even take a bite, Myoga spoke up from the collar of his shirt.

"Good morning, young Shippo. Would you like to take a walk this morning? Lady Kagome has asked me to speak with you, and I would like to begin as soon as possible," the tiny flea-demon said.

"What kind of things did you want to talk about," he asked? Even as he spoke, he was headed out the door of Kaede's hut. "Where to now, Myoga, do you want to stay in the village, or head out to the forest?"

"Perhaps it would be best if we went into the forest, to the well, I think," the flea demon replied.

"Okay," said the little kitsune, scampering down the trail towards the well at a very respectable pace.

Hopping up to the top of the low wall surrounding the Bone Eaters Well, Myoga began, "Shippo, Lady Kagome has asked me to talk with you about a number of topics, and I would like to begin with magic. Specifically, Kitsune magic, and just what you can do, and what kinds of things you have been told that you will be able to do."

"Huh? What do you mean? You know what I can do, don't you?" Shippo asked, with a puzzled look on his little face.

"Yes, Shippo, I **_do_** know what you can do, but that is **_not the same thing_** as you knowing what you can do." Myoga explained, which only confused the kit even more.

"That's stupid, it doesn't make any sense!" Shippo said.

Sighing, Myoga held on to his slipping patience, and said, "Shippo, please describe to me what you can do with your 'foxfire'.

"Okaaay. I can use it to start campfires, light torches, and I've been trying to use it to make plants grow faster," Shippo said, his tone sounding as if he was humoring a madman.

"I see, and have you used it to create a shield to protect against physical or magical attacks," Myoga asked, trying to encourage the little kitsune, so that he would be more cooperative.

"Shield? I didn't know that foxfire could act as a shield!" he said excitedly.

"Of course, didn't your father's spirit use foxfire to protect both you and Kagome from Hiten's attack? Surely, you realized that if your father's spirit could use foxfire to create a shield, that you could do it as well?" Myoga just looked a bit disappointedly at Shippo, as Shippo shook his head 'No'.

"Very well, what different forms can you assume? And for how long can you maintain them?" He asked.

"Umm, I can become a pink bubble, which can float, and carry a lot of weight. I can hold that shape for about 15 minutes now. I can also become a mouse, although I am still pretty big for a normal mouse. That shape I can hold for over an hour. I can also become anyone I have seen, or know well, for at least 10 minutes. I used to still have my tail, but I've figured out how to fix that problem at last. I can become a bow, so that Kagome can shoot her arrows. That's really hard, but it has been useful a couple of times, so I don't mind. And I just recently figured out how to become a big seagull, big enough so that Kagome can ride on my back! I think that's about all I can do with shape changing. Oh, yeah! I almost forgot! I can become a fox, of course! I can keep that shape for as long as I want." Shippo recited, becoming more excited and proud, as he realized that he could actually do quite a bit, for someone as young as he was.

"I see, that is impressive for a kit so young as you. What other magic can you summon; Illusions? Healing? Shapechanging others? Any form of combat magic?" Myoga asked hopefully.

Shippo just shook his head again, this time his eyes were very wide, clearly he had no idea that any of the things that Myoga had asked about were even possible to a kitsune like himself.

Timidly, he asked, "Can you teach me how to do those things, Myoga?"

Sighing, the elderly flea demon said, "Not really, I am not a kitsune. What I can do is try to help you figure out for yourself how to do some of these things, and help you get stronger and better with what you already know how to accomplish. Perhaps, in time, we can find someone to teach you new skills. However, for right now, I think we will begin with mastering and improving your skill with 'foxfire' as it is basis for all of your magic."

"Really, why is that? I thought it was, just, well, fire. How come it's the 'basis' for all my magic?" Shippo asked, quite puzzled by something that he considered so simple.

"If I understand kitsune magic correctly, 'foxfire' is the active manifestation of your youki, or demonic aura. This means that it has a relatively limited range, but that results can be quite remarkable. It can burn or not, as you wish. It can shield or heal or harm, depending upon **_your_** **_intent. _**Because it is your youki, with effort and practice, you can control it very precisely."

Shippo continued to sit and stare at Myoga for several minutes, trying to digest everything he had just heard. Finally, he shook himself and said, "Okay, where do we start?"

Myoga simply said, "First, we need to see how far you can send your foxfire, and then how long you can maintain foxfire blasts and shields. After that, we will start on some of the simple illusions that you can already perform, with an eye towards getting faster at casting them, and then maintaining them longer. Alright?"

At Shippo's eager nod, Myoga said, "Then let us began."

For the next three hours, Myoga put Shippo through a grueling test of his magic, allowing only very short breaks for rest. Finally, he called a halt to the session, and the two of them returned to Kaede's hut for something to eat. To everyone's surprise, Shippo fell asleep almost before he had finished eating his lunch. Myoga explained what they had been doing all morning, saying that Lady Kagome had requested his assistance with training Shippo to use his demonic and magical abilities.

The humans listened in silence to the little flea demon describe what had occurred during the morning; finally, Miroku spoke up, "Do you believe that Shippo can learn enough to actually help during a fight? Isn't he still far too young for that?"

To his surprise, Sango answered him. "You might be surprised, houshi-sama, youkai grow up quite fast in the first couple of years."

"Indeed. Although Shippo is not yet three years old, he is quite capable of helping out. Both in a fight and out of one, he could be very helpful. The real question is will he want to," Myoga replied, in turn.

"Lady Kagome has asked for my help in teaching Shippo to use his youkai powers more effectively, but she is also concerned about his education in other areas as well. She informed me that she will be looking for some materials to begin teaching him how to read and write while she is visiting her time. More than that, I believe you must speak to her to find out." Myoga said to them.

"I see," said the young monk, nodding his head in understanding. "Perhaps Lady Sango and I can help you with Shippo. Between her knowledge of youkai, and my small skill with magic, I believe that we could be of some assistance to you, if you would like."

Myoga bounced up and down a couple times, and said "Lord Miroku, Lady Sango! Your assistance would be of great help." Coughing, he continued, "In all honesty, sometimes Shippo can be a bit too, how shall I put this, **_energetic_**, for me to handle."

Both Miroku and Sango laughed at this, and the three continued to discuss some things to do with Shippo, when his magic training continued on the next day. After about an hour or so, Sango excused herself and taking Kirara, she left Miroku and Myoga still working out some of the more esoteric exercises for Shippo.

Over the next three days, a routine developed. In the mornings, after breakfast, Myoga, Miroku, Sango and Shippo would leave the village, going into the forest to a large clearing about a mile away from the village. There, they would continue Shippo's training until lunchtime, returning to Kaede's to eat. Shippo would then nap for most of the afternoon, waking shortly before dinner.

The humans spent the afternoon working on their weapons, practice fighting, and occasionally talking about what Inuyasha and Kagome might be doing, 500 years in the future.

Finally, late on the fourth day, Inuyasha and Kagome returned to Kaede's village.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Author's Note: Thank you very much for the thoughtful reviews. I intend to update regularly, at least twice a week, until I catch up to the chapter I am working on (which ever one that is at the time) after that it will probably be once a week.

Kagome led her friends up to the shrine, but rather than taking them to the house, she pointed them to a small garden at the other end of the grounds, and asked them to wait for her there, while she told her mother that she was home.

Entering the house, Kagome saw her mother folding some laundry and said, "Mama, my friends dropped by for chat; I'm going to take some drinks out to the garden for us all, okay?"

"Of course, dear. There's some lemonade in the fridge, or you can take some soda, if you prefer. Oh, by the way, Inuyasha said that he would put the packages in your room, alright?"

"Thanks, mama. I'll take care of that stuff later. Bye!" As she spoke, Kagome took a pitcher of fresh lemonade from the refrigerator and a small stack of paper cups from the cupboard and headed back outside.

Joining up with her friends, she passed out cups of filled lemonade, and settled down on one of the benches, waiting for her friends to begin the interrogation.

Yuka jumped in first, "Okay, so is he the same 'bad-tempered, selfish, two-timing jerk' you mentioned a few months ago?"

"Hmm," Kagome responded, "Yes and no."

"Yes and no? What kind of an answer is that, girl? Is he or isn't he?" Yuka demanded.

"Yes and no," Kagome said again, this time with a giggle. "Yes, he is the same boy, but no, he isn't selfish, bad-tempered or a two-timing jerk. Not really."

"Not really?" Ayumi repeated back at her. "What do you mean? Isn't that what you said he was?"

"Yes, I did," Kagome answered her, "But, well, I was sort of mad at him at the time, and…well, I said some things about him that aren't really true. Or, at least," she looked just a bit ashamed, "that he didn't deserve."

"So, is he bad-tempered?" Eri asked curiously.

"Sometimes, he hates to be idle; if he gets frustrated, his temper can get pretty short." Kagome explained.

"Is he violent," Yuka asked, a fearful look on her face, "has he ever…hurt you, Kagome?"

"What? Are you crazy? Inuyasha would never hurt me! When I said his temper gets short, I just meant that some times he yells a lot." Kagome shrugged, her face flushing just a little. "It's not like I don't yell back. To be honest, I sometimes lose my temper, too. But, seriously, Inuyasha would **NEVER** hurt me."

"I see," said Yuka, "but what about 'selfish' and 'possessive'? That doesn't sound too good. What's up with that?

Kagome looked at her for a moment, then snickered. "He's a teenaged boy, of course he's selfish! I think it's like, a rule or something. Seriously, can you name any teenager who isn't selfish?"

"What about Hojo, Kagome? He's very thoughtful and nice. He's not at all selfish." Ayumi said, thinking that Hojo would be much better for her friend than this boy, Inuyasha.

Kagome looked at Ayumi for a moment, then said, "Ayumi, do you know how many times I've told Hojo that I was not interested in being his girlfriend? In how many different ways? How many times I've suggested that he find another girl? And, yet he keeps coming back with his different gifts, always asking me to go out with him. Don't you think that doing **_that_**, no matter what I say or do, is pretty selfish?" She closed her eyes, and sighed. "Hojo is a very nice boy, but he is just not for me." Opening her eyes, she went on, "To be honest, he would either drive me insane, by being so constantly nice, or I'd end up running right over him. Not exactly a recipe for a good relationship, true?"

Eri spoke up, deciding to settle things once and for all, "Okay, is he a little possessive, Kagome?"

Kagome smiled and said, "That's just a bit of an understatement, Eri. Inuyasha is **_very_** possessive. Or, to be more accurate, Inuyasha is very**_ protective_**. He just doesn't understand what the difference between the two is. His social skills are a bit…primitive. He means well, but he isn't exactly subtle when dealing with people."

"And you're okay with this, Kagome? You don't mind if he acts selfish and possessive?" Yuka asked, still worried for her friend.

"Yeah, I'm okay with this. For all of his faults, and believe me, I'm not blind to them, I trust Inuyasha. Period. I know that he cares about me, and that he would never hurt me, or let me be hurt, if he could possibly prevent it. And when you get right down to it, what more could I ask for?" Kagome said, a very serious expression on her face.

Yuka decided to ask one more question, hoping to ease her mind on one last item. "Kagome, please don't get angry at me, but…is he two-timing you? I think that you like him very much, and I really don't want to see you get hurt."

Kagome sighed sadly, and then said, "No, he isn't two-timing me. There is someone else, someone that he cares for very much." Closing her eyes, she fought back tears at the thought of Kikyo taking Inuyasha with her to hell, as she had promised to do. Then she went on, "Right now, she's in a lot of trouble, and he worries about her, and he wants to help her out. And, as much as that bothers me, I would think less of him if he didn't want to help her." Opening her eyes, she looked at the worried faces of her friends. "It's okay. I meant it when I said that I had made my choice, and that I would stand by it. He knew her before we ever met, and well, sometimes life just hands you a great, big lemon, you know? I guess I'll just keep on trying to make lemonade, that's all." As she finished speaking, her friends saw the unshed tears in her eyes, and just didn't know what else to say or do.

At last, Eri, trying to change the subject to something less intense, asked, "So, leaving aside your boyfriend, how have you been lately? Your grandfather said that you had, what was it again? TB? How come he always seems to think that you have so many weird illnesses? I mean, you don't look bad right now, but sometimes you look, well, pretty bad. So, what's up with him?"

Yuka added, "Actually, sometimes you look like death warmed over; but other times, like today, you look fine, and…"

Kagome broke in, hoping to redirect their questions, "Jii-chan is…confused, by my condition. Mama has tried to explain it to him a couple of times, but he seems to just, I don't know, create his own explanations for why I'm always getting sick." She shrugged, trying to project a feeling of 'oh well, he's just old' in the hopes of closing this topic. Fortunately, Ayumi, usually the least aware of her friends, got the message and switched the topic to a really good movie she had just seen, and the other girls went along with her.

Kagome spent the rest of the afternoon just enjoying the opportunity to relax and forget about the Shikon No Tama, Naraku and everything to do with the Sengoku Jidai, and just be a normal middle school girl for a little while.

Eventually, her friends had to go back to their own homes for dinner, and Kagome picked up the mess they had made and went back inside her own house.

"I'm back, mama, the girls have all gone back home now," Kagome said as she came in and began disposing of the trash and put the empty lemonade pitcher in the sink. "Would you like some help with dinner?" she asked, seeing that her mother was taking some food out the freezer and putting it on the counter.

"Thank you, Kagome, but it's all under control. Why don't you go and take care of the stuff you picked up earlier, okay?" Her mother said, as she went around the kitchen, getting out what she needed for dinner.

"Okay," Kagome said, heading up the stairs to her room. When she went in, she saw that all of the bags had been emptied, and the contents were neatly piled on her bed. Taking a deep breath, she decided to start with the first aid kit, so she took it out of her backpack, and started to restock it from the supplies that they had bought earlier. After refilling the kit, she looked at all of the remaining supplies and decided to bring them back and leave them with Kaede, figuring that it would allow them to move faster, and that Kaede could use them as well, if she needed to. She went down to the kitchen to get some large, resealable, plastic bags that she then used to store the extra items in. She also packed all of the extra antibiotic cream and burn ointment into separate bags, since they were intended for Kaede's use anyways.

Once she finished with the medical supplies, she packed them away in her backpack and stashed away the belt pouches, writing pads, and the workbooks and coloring books she had picked out for Shippo and then put the backpack in her closet until later.

Taking the stack of books she had bought, as well as the ones her mother had given her, Kagome flopped down on her bed and started skimming through them, trying to get a good feel for which would be the most helpful. Eventually, her mother's voice calling everyone to dinner broke her out of her studies, and she marked her place and headed on down to eat.

After eating dinner in peace, well relative peace anyways, Sota had pestered both Inuyasha and her for stories about their adventures down the well until, desperate to stop Inuyasha from bopping her brother, Kagome had promised to tell him TWO adventures after supper. Content with her promise, Sota let the rest of the meal pass in peace.

As usual, Kagome helped her mother with the supper dishes while Sota and Jii-chan retired to the living room to squabble over the remote. Inuyasha went upstairs and came back down with one of the books they had picked out that afternoon. Before leaving, he told her he would be in the Go-Shim-Boku until sunset.

When all of the dishes were done, Kagome fetched Sota from the living room and took him outside to keep her promise to him.

"Okay, what kind of a story do you want to hear this time, Sota?" Kagome asked, as she settled down on the ground at the foot of tree Inuyasha was resting in.

"I don't know, something with a really evil monster in it. Like, I don't know, a man-eating monster, or something." Sota asked hopefully.

"Gee, a man-eating monster? I don't know of any stories like that," Kagome answered with a nervous giggle, not really wanting to tell Sota about some of the truly terrifying things that they had fought. Before she could think of something that wouldn't give her brother nightmares, Inuyasha spoke from above them.

"How about the 'Peach Man' or the false 'Water God'? Those might amuse him."

"The 'Peach Man', are you crazy? Inuyasha, I can't tell him that one!" Kagome exclaimed, a blush appearing on her face.

At this, Sota became extremely interested, "Why not, Kagome, it sounds like it would be a good one."

"NO!" she said, very firmly.

"What's wrong with telling him that one, wench. The bad guy died, didn't he?" Inuyasha asked, puzzled by her vehemence.

"Inuyasha! The kitchen!" She sputtered, remembering how Inuyasha had smashed the door down when she had been trying to escape the huge cooking vat full of sake.

'_I think that that's the first time he really **saw **me, and I was stark naked! But, I didn't 'sit' him for seeing me, did I? And he gave me his haori to wear… I can't believe that he thought I'd mind that his blood was on it! He lost that blood for me, and I think that that was when I really **saw** him. He was human that night and he's always…gentler… on that night. He was so relieved to see me alive and so was I. And later, when he took the 'Peach Man' with him off the cliff, oh god, I thought he was dead…'_ Just the memory of that night was enough to make her eyes sting with unshed tears.

"Oh! I…ah…sorry about that," he said, a faint blush appearing on his face as he remembered finding her in the kitchen that time. "Maybe, um, how about Ryoukan, he wasn't a man-eater, but he did try to kill us."

"That's no good, I wasn't there for most of that one, remember? You had tried to seal the well, with me stuck over here, remember?" As she spoke, she remembered how hurt and upset she had been, being unable to see him and help with his injuries.

"Tsubaki? Juramaru/Kageramaru? Ryukotsusei? Come on, wench, just tell him a story!" Inuyasha suggested, hoping she would just start telling him something.

"Ryukotsusei? That is a good one. Okay, Sota, I'll tell you the story of how Inuyasha fought and destroyed a huge dragon, one that even Inuyasha's father was unable to destroy." Kagome offered, feeling that this story was pretty safe for her brother.

For the next hour, Kagome kept her brother, and although she didn't realize it, her mother and grandfather, enthralled as she told how Inuyasha had to master Tetsusaiga again after it had been broken and repaired. She glossed over how he had transformed into full youkai, but made it clear that he had chosen to defeat his foe using only his sword, so that he could truly master Tetsusaiga. When she had finished telling the story, her mother spoke up and said that even though she had promised two stories, the second would have to wait for another day, as it was Sota's bedtime.

"Aww, Mom! I don't have school tomorrow; can't I stay up just a little later? Please?" Sota begged, not wanting to miss out on another story as good as the last one. Usually, Kagome's stories didn't last nearly that long, or sound as exciting, and he wanted to hear even more.

"No. She can tell you another story tomorrow or Monday. Now, scoot," his mother said, shooing him towards the house. Turning her head back towards the tree, she called out, "Kagome, you and Inuyasha shouldn't stay out too late, either, Okay?"

"Okay, mama. I'll be just a bit longer," she answered back. Leaning back against the tree, Kagome closed her eyes and relaxed, just enjoying the night.

After a few minutes, she heard a soft thud, as Inuyasha gently landed next to her and sat down against the tree with her. Both sat there in silence, just enjoying the peace and quiet.

As the night sky darkened, Kagome finally broke the silence. "Hey. I'm going to bed now, do you want to come in or do you want to stay out here for a while? If you do, just be quiet when you come in, okay? Mama is a light sleeper and you don't want to wake her up unnecessarily."

Inuyasha snorted, "Why? Does she wake up swinging like you?"

"I don't wake up swinging!" she denied hotly.

"Yeah, right. Why do you think I stopped waking you up, and started letting Shippo do it? You've got a solid punch, y'know? It smarts," Inuyasha said with a smirk.

Kagome stared at him for a minute, than began blushing as she remembered a couple of instances when she had woken up with Inuyasha right next to her. Dropping her face into her hands, she mumbled, "I can't believe I did that. Arrgh. I'm sorry." Looking back up at Inuyasha's face, which still had a little smirk on it, she blushed and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize…Arrgh!" Still blushing she got up and brushed herself off. "Well, I think on that note, I will just say 'Good Night'" and Kagome walked back to her house, leaving Inuyasha at the Go-Shim-Boku, still smiling at her antics.

The next morning, Kagome was awoken by her mother's voice calling her to breakfast.

"Wha…what time is it?" Looking for her alarm clock, she only then remembered that she had thrown it against the wall when it went off yesterday. Flopping back on her bed, she covered her eyes with her arm, and groaned. "Gaaaah. Inuyasha was right, I must be terrible to wake up. And I still have to buy a new alarm clock." Groaning again, she got up and dressed in a skirt and a short-sleeved top, decorated with pink and white flowers. Grabbing her hairbrush, she went into the bathroom to start her day.

Going down to breakfast a few minutes later, she saw that Sota was still missing, although everyone else was already sitting down. Taking her seat, she apologized for being late and accepted a plate of food from her mother.

"Thank you, mama, this looks great." As she began eating, she thought about what she wanted to do today; unfortunately, studying and schoolwork were high on the list, but she still needed to go out and buy a new alarm clock, too.

After breakfast, Sota and Jii-chan went out to do some work in the shrine, Kagome and her mother cleaned up the kitchen and then separated to do some of the other housework that needed to be done. Inuyasha, feeling uncomfortable as everyone else was doing chores, went upstairs and changed into modern clothes before he left the shrine and headed down the shrine stairs towards the local grocery store that he had followed Kagome to once before when she went shopping for Ramen.

As he walked down the street, he thought about his realization that he was now a pack leader, and just what that meant, both here and back in the Sengoku Jidai. He thought about his responsibility to provide for and protect his strange pack; on the whole he decided that he did pretty good at protecting, but maybe he needed to do better at providing. With these ideas running around in his head, he decided that today was a good day to start making some changes. When he reached the entrance to the store, he stopped and took a deep breath before pushing the door open and walking in. Looking around the store, he decided to simply walk around and see where things were located, and watch the other people do their shopping, especially paying for the food.

Inuyasha spent the next 15 minutes simply observing, before he went back to the entrance and took an empty cart to put stuff in. Deciding to take care of the important things first, he put about two dozen boxes of Ramen in the cart, followed by almost as many boxes of the snack bars, 'Granola' if he remembered what Kagome had called them. As he went around the store, he tried to recall the different types of food that Kagome would bring with her, hoping that this would make things easier for her. Finally, with the cart filled almost to the top, he decided to pay for the stuff and head back to the shrine.

Waiting until the clerk near the door wasn't busy, Inuyasha spotted a clock that looked just like the one he had smashed many months before. Pausing, uncertain if she would remember the event, he decided to buy it for her anyways. Taking another deep breath, he made his face as expressionless as possible and went up to the clerk. When he got there, he put all of the items that he wanted on the counter, just like he had seen other people do, and waited for the clerk to put them in bags. When the clerk was done, she said, "That will be 4,350 yen please."

Inuyasha took out the leather wallet that Kagome had given him, opened it and took out the stack of yen inside. Looking at it carefully, masking his uncertainty, he pulled out a piece of paper that were marked 5,000 yen, and handed it to the clerk.

"Thank you, sir. Your change is 650 yen. Here you go, sir. Have a nice day." The young clerk smiled cheerfully at Inuyasha as he put the paper she handed him into the wallet, then the coins and his wallet went back into his belt pouch, and started picking up the bags full of food. By carefully holding the loops in each bag, he was able to carry them easily. Pushing the door open with his shoulder, he left the store and headed back to the shrine.

Entering the shrine, Inuyasha saw that Sota was sweeping out the main shrine building, and that Kagome and her mother were behind the house hanging out sheets to dry. Deciding not to stop and talk to Kagome, he went into the house, kicked off his sandals, and took his packages upstairs to his room. Dropping them onto the futon, he decided to organize them on the desk, not that he would be using it for anything else, and let Kagome decide how to pack them for their return through the well. A quick five minutes work finished that task and left him with only one last thing to do. The alarm clock.

Taking it out of the box, he tried to read the directions that came with it, but, not knowing how to tell time in this modern age, he finally gave up. Folding the directions back up, he took the clock and directions to Kagome's room and put them on the little table next to her bed. Looking around her room, he saw some of the books that she had bought yesterday sitting on her desk. That was when he remembered the one he had been reading last night. Or, at least trying to read; it seemed like every third symbol was unfamiliar or just plain odd-looking. As much as he hated to admit that he needed help, he thought that he might have no choice but to ask Kagome to help him read the book.

Going back to his room, he picked up the book and went outside to find Kagome. Going around to the back of the house, where he had seen them hanging up the laundry, he found Kagome and her mother were almost done. Deciding to wait until she was finished, he sat down with his back to the house and opened the book up to try reading it again.

A few minutes later, a shadow blocked his light and he looked up to see Kagome approaching.

"Hey, what're you reading, Inuyasha? Is that one of the books we got yesterday?"

"Feh," was his only reply.

Leaning over, Kagome looked at the cover, blinked, and said, "Home schooling? Why in the world would you be reading about home schooling, Inuyasha? I got that to help me figure out how to teach Shippo to read properly," she said, clearly puzzled at his choice of book.

"Feh."

Leaning back to sit next to him, she started to speak, than closed her mouth and turned and looked at him with a shocked look on her face. "Inuyasha, I just realized that you can read! I mean, in all the months we've been together, I don't think I've ever seen you read anything! At all!"

"Of course I can read, wench! My mother taught me when I was just a pup. Besides, how do you think I picked out the books for Shippo? Feh," he said, turning his head away.

Kagome saw his face and thought that she had hurt his feelings with her remarks. Reaching out, she touched his shoulder, "I'm sorry Inuyasha, I didn't mean it the way it sounded. It's just that I've never seen you read anything, and somehow I just assumed that you **didn't** read because you **couldn't. **That was thoughtless and rude, and I am so sorry. I never meant to…" pausing to find the right words, Kagome finally clasped her hands in her lap and bowed her head over them and said, "I apologize, Inuyasha. Please forgive me."

Turning back to face her, Inuyasha covered her hands with one of his and said, "It's okay, Kagome. You didn't know." He used his other hand to lift her gaze to meet his, "My mother taught me to read after my father died, but I always wanted to go outside and play or go into the woods and hunt." He snorted, "Or at least, try to hunt. A four year old pup can't do a very good job of hunting, no matter how much he tries to pretend he can." He smirked at her and then added, "The rabbits could outrun me with out even trying, and just about everything else was bigger than me."

Kagome smiled back at him, even if her smile was a little shaky and said, "I wish I could have seen that, I bet it is was pretty cute." Taking in a deep breath, she went on, "Let's start over. So, Inuyasha, which book are you reading?"

Inuyasha looked surprised, but said, "Okay. Umm, it's about 'Home schooling' and I was curious to see what it meant. I was hoping that it might give me some ideas about teaching Shippo how to track, hunt, and fight. I mean, I know how to **_do_** those things, but I've never tried to **_teach_** anyone else to do something before."

Kagome looked back, puzzled by his words until at last she realized what he had to be intending. "Inuyasha, do you mean that you want to teach **_Shippo_** how to track and hunt?" She asked, with her amazement very clear in her voice.

Inuyasha just sighed and leaned back against the wall of the house. "Kagome, I just started to realize some things lately. And one of them is that I have some responsibilities towards Shippo, that I haven't been taking care of."

"Responsibilities? What kind of responsibilities…and why towards Shippo? I don't understand?" Kagome was confused and a little bit uneasy about Inuyasha's statement. _'Inuyasha worrying about not fulfilling his responsibilities to SHIPPO! That's just not like him.' _She thought to herself, _'I mean, he's always protected him, but that's it…nothing more. So, why now? What happened? He's been acting sort of weird every since we left Kaede's.'_ As she sat next to him, Inuyasha went on.

"It's sort of complicated, but I, umm, well, I…" Taking another deep breath, Inuyasha tried again. "You and I, together we, I mean, I didn't know what I doing, and well, um…well, we created a pack." Dropping his voice even lower than it had gotten during his confused explanation, he added, "Sort of."

Kagome sat there listening to Inuyasha, and she realized that although his explanation hadn't helped her to understand what was going on, it was very important to him. "Okay, so you created a pack. Umm, what does that mean?" Thinking a moment, she added, "And what did you mean "you and I, together'? What did **_we_** do that created a pack? And just who is in this pack?"

Inuyasha bit his lip and went on. "All of us are in the pack. You, me, Shippo, Kaede, Sango, Miroku, Myoga, Kirara. All of us. We are a pack. Sort of."

Frowning in concentration, Kagome broke in. "Wait a minute. I thought that a pack was a group of the same type of, well, demons or animals. How can it be a pack when everyone is different?"

He just shrugged and said, "I don't know. All I know is that somehow, it happened. I think I did it instinctively, without even realizing it. All I know is that after you talked to me about wanting to teach Shippo the **_proper_** way to behave, I started trying to figure out just what in the hell that was. I mean, I wasn't raised with dog-demons, and even humans didn't want anything to do with me after my mother died." The look on Inuyasha's face was one she had never seen before, a little bit sad and a little bit angry, and she wondered if he was remembering his mother while she was still alive, or if he was remembering her death. "Then, on the night of the new moon, you said that you were going to have your mother get some of **_your _**money out of the 'bank' so you could go shopping. That's when I realized that it was **_my_** responsibility to provide for you, because **_I was the pack leader_**." Shrugging, he added, "I think that was when you got upset because I wasn't listening to you. You were right, I really wasn't listening to you. I was kind of busy trying to figure out why I thought I was the pack leader and it was pretty distracting."

"Huh. I guess that would be pretty distracting." Kagome looked at the young dog-demon sitting next to her for a couple of minutes in thoughtful silence. Finally she broke the silence by asking, "So, what kind of responsibilities do you have as the pack leader? And what kind of responsibilities do I have in the pack? What should I be doing? And…do the others know about this? Sango, Miroku and the others."

Well, you see, I'm not really sure. Umm, you know that my father died when I was very young, right? And that my mother died when I was about five years old…" he stopped and a look of anger flashed across his face. "According to what Myoga's told me about dog-demon customs, since my mother's family didn't want me around, I should have been taken in and raised by another member of my family."

"But," she interrupted, "that means that **_Sesshomaru_** was supposed to take you in right? But he hates you!"

"Oh, you noticed that did you?" he asked sarcastically. Continuing on, he added in a calmer tone of voice, "To be honest, I think that he always despised me because of my human blood, but it wasn't until I had Tetsusaiga that he really hated me. Before that, I think I was beneath his notice."

"Getting back to what I was saying before, I wasn't raised with dog-demons, so I'm going with what my instincts are telling me and some things that Myoga has mentioned. I'm supposed to protect my pack, provide for them, and do whatever is necessary so that all the members of the pack prosper. Up to this point, I think I've done a pretty good job of protecting us all, but I haven't done much in the way of providing for us, and my instincts are telling me that I haven't done **_anything_** to help us prosper. I think I'm supposed to be teaching and guiding, and I really don't have a damn **_clue_** how to go about any of that!" As he spoke, his fists clenched and his voice got a bit louder and much more intense.

"Inuyasha, it's not your fault! You didn't know about any of this until now! Now that you do, you've made it quite clear that you want to take care of your responsibilities, and I think you'll do just fine," Kagome said, rising to her knees, and placing her hand on his shoulder. "Just tell me what you do know, or what you think you know, and I'll help you in any way I can. You know I will!"

Touched, Inuyasha covered her small hand with his much larger one and said seriously, "I hope so, but there are some things that you need to know, about the pack and where you stand in it."

She just smiled and said, "After every thing that we've gone through, I think I can handle it. Just tell me what I need to know, okay?"

Inuyasha smiled a bit nervously and said, "Okay. The first thing is that I think that we formed our pack when we took Shippo in and let him stay with us. Even when he would challenge me, and piss me off, part of the problem was that I'm still way too young to be a pack leader, so I'd treat him like a litter-mate instead of like the pup he is, which meant that I'd just bop him on the head, instead of treating him like a little pup. When I did that, I went against both my instincts and, I think, his." He stopped and looked at Kagome, trying to see how she was taking it so far. Going on, he said, "The other part of the problem is that, well, the way you treat him." Gulping, he added "You said it yourself, two days ago, that you made it okay for him to go against me, remember?"

Kagome nodded, "Yes, I did. And I meant it, too. But, I think there is more to it, than just my 's'ing you when you and Shippo got into a fight, isn't there?"

"Yeah, there is. But, I'm not sure you're going to be happy about the rest of it." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "You see, when we took him in, you became, well…umm, you became his, umm, his mother," he finished with a rush.

"His…what! I'm his mother! But, I'm only 15! I can't be his mother!" Her voice rose as she spoke, until she was almost shouting. As she realized what she had said, she covered her mouth with both hands, as if to take back her words.

Inuyasha looked at her a bit sadly and said, "Well, how do you think I felt, when I realized that I was the little twerp's new father! I've spent most of the last year treating him like a little pest, when I should have been teaching him how to hunt and track, and…and, I don't even know what else I should have been doing! All I know is that I need to figure out how to do it right."

As Kagome watched Inuyasha, she felt a little ashamed of how she had reacted to his words. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. You just took me by surprise, that's all. And you did tell me what I wanted to know. It's not your fault that I reacted so badly." Getting to her feet, she reached down to Inuyasha, and said, "Come on, I think we need to go for a walk and talk about this. In detail, okay?"

Inuyasha looked up at her for a moment, then took her offered hand and stood up with her. "Okay. Let's go for a walk."

Stopping for a moment to tell her mother that they were going to take a walk, and that they would pick up lunch while they were out, the two headed down the shrine steps and towards a nearby park.

As they walked down the street, still holding hands, Inuyasha tried to explain what his instincts were telling him about their unusual pack.

"Most demon packs are formed by dog- or wolf demons, kitsune don't really form packs, even though they like to live close together. It's more like they will form a village or small community; at least that's what Myoga told me when I asked about Shippo, one time. But, normally, a pack is formed only from one type of demon, and never from demons and humans." He laughed and said, "Our pack is downright weird; a hanyou, three full demons, four humans; and two of the humans are Miko's, one's a Buddhist monk, and one is a taijiya, **_a demon exterminator!_** That's not even weird, it's impossible."

Kagome just smiled at him and said "Hey, just because its never been done before, that doesn't mean it's impossible, ya' know. Besides, I think that all of us have more important things to worry about, than whether or not we're **_supposed_** to be together! Finding the shards and defeating Naraku comes first, for everyone! And if in the process, we've formed a pack, and become our own family, well as far as I am concerned…**GOOD!**"

Inuyasha just shook his head and said, "That may be how you feel, but I don't know if the rest of them will be as pleased about it."

"Fine. Let's go back and tell them right now. I don't think they'll be upset, I think that they'll be pretty pleased. At least, once they think about it for a minute. So, if you're worried about it, let's go home and tell them!" Kagome started to turn back towards the shrine, but Inuyasha just shook his head and pulled her back in the direction they had been walking.

"No, it can wait until you're ready to go back. I'd rather talk with you first, and settle things here before we go back. "

"Settle what kinds of things?" she asked as they crossed the busy street and went into the park.

"Things like, just what we need to teach Shippo, and **_how_** we're going to teach him. I suspect that teaching him to read and write will be easy; the little twerp is actually pretty smart. And if nothing else, I can just take him with me when I go hunting, and let him watch, he'll probably be able to pick it up that way. But, I haven't any idea how to teach him to behave…I'm not even sure just what behavior is supposed to be acceptable." As he talked, Inuyasha let go of Kagome's hand so he could emphasize his points. Without realizing it, he led her down one of the smaller paths that led into the small grove of trees in the center of the park.

Kagome listened intently as they walked and waited until he had stopped speaking before she replied. "You know, one of my teachers gave me an extra credit assignment that was about wild animal behavior, specifically wolf packs. Maybe some of that stuff applies to our problem, or at least maybe it can give us some ideas. I'll dig it back out and read it again, but with you this time and see if it helps. Plus, we can go to the library and look up stuff on-line, that's where a lot of the articles she gave me came from." Pausing to think some more, she continued, "Aside from Shippo, how does our being a pack change things for us. Will there be anything else we need to do, does this change how we act towards Miroku or Sango?"

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't think it makes any difference for the rest of us, not really. Umm, there is one thing though…it may make a difference or not, I'm not sure." As he paused, he looked at Kagome out of the corner of his eye. "You see, since I'm pack leader, that makes you…umm, well it makes you…" he stopped, unable to finish what he had started to say.

"It makes me…what? What does your being pack leader have to do with me?" Kagome was a little uneasy at how hard a time Inuyasha was having with his explanation, and she was beginning to think that she might not like what he had to say. "Come on, just tell me, okay? It can't be that bad."

Taking a deep breath, he said, "It means that you're the lead female in our pack. And, look I'm going with what my instincts are telling me, okay? I'm not really sure I'm getting this right, and well…I don't want you to take it wrong, Okay?"

"Okay, **_now_** you are making me uneasy. Would you **_please_** just tell me whatever it is you're trying to say!" By this time, Kagome was starting to get scared at the way he was avoiding telling her.

Mumbling, he said, "It means that you're my mate."

Kagome stopped dead in her tracks and said, "I'm your **_what?"_**

Turning back to face her, Inuyasha repeated, "You're my mate. And I'm yours."

Kagome stood in the middle of the path, stunned for a moment at his words, but especially at what images had sprung into her mind. Firmly grabbing control of her imagination, which was starting to wander in some frankly naughty directions, she blushed quite pink. Finally, she shook her head and said, "I need to stop and think about this." Spotting a bench set back from the path, close to the trees, she walked over and sat down, smoothed out her skirt, and pointed at the bench and said "Inuyasha, come over here and s…sorry, have a seat next to me. We need to talk."

Inuyasha nodded and sat down next to her, and looked at his hands and said, "I know, but I'm really not good at this, explaining things." He sighed, "Especially when I'm not really sure about them to begin with."

Kagome nodded at him seriously, but said "It's okay if you don't have all the answers to my questions, we'll either ask Myoga or make it up as we go along." Tapping her lip with her finger, she finally asked him, "If you don't mind, can we put the whole topic of our being mates to one side, for now? I think I want to focus on dealing with Shippo first, okay?" _'I don't know if I can handle talking about something like being 'mates', when I'm not sure where I fit, what with Kikyo, and stuff. Shippo, I can deal with. I can be his mother, no problem. But Inuyasha and I, being…mates! I'll deal with that later.'_

"Keh, if that's what you want, it's fine with me. As for Shippo, I would like to try taking him out, first thing in the mornings, to try teaching him to track and hunt rabbits. He won't catch anything for a while, but it's a lot of fun, and that might make it easier for both of us," Inuyasha said, clearly grateful to change the subject. "When we're traveling, it'll be harder, so I think I'll just have him tell me what he can scent and see while we move. When we make camp, I'll try to have him set snares that we can check in the morning; that shouldn't slow us down too much."

Kagome smiled at him and said, "That sounds really good! I can use meal times to teach him some basic things, like his numbers and arithmetic, and save reading and writing for when we stay somewhere for more than one night." As she spoke she thought about asking the others, the other members of their pack, for help also. "Inuyasha, do Miroku and Sango have responsibilities to help teach the pups, Shippo I mean, as well? Because if they do, Miroku could be a big help with reading and writing, and I bet Sango has some experience teaching children how to fight, I mean she did grow up in a village that was dedicated to fighting demons, right? I already asked Myoga for his help, and I think the others would be happy to help to teach Shippo stuff."

For the next hour, Kagome and Inuyasha sat and talked about how they wanted to go about teaching Shippo the things he needed to know, and especially how he should behave as a member of the pack. They were so intent on their discussion, that even Inuyasha was surprised when they were interrupted by a group of young men who had stopped right in front of their bench.

"Hey, whitey, got a light?" The largest one said, smirking at his friends.

Inuyasha and Kagome both looked up, startled at his loud voice, but Inuyasha just frowned and said, "Let's go, Kagome," and stood up and offered her his hand.

"What? How dare you disrespect me, you freaky punk!" The intruder said loudly, feigning shocked outrage. "Kneel down and apologize!" At this, the other young men snickered and laughed at each other.

"Apologize? To you? I don't think so. Get out of our way. **_Now!_**" Inuyasha snarled, his free hand flexing and the knuckles cracking loudly.

The largest one stepped closer to Inuyasha, while two others moved towards Kagome. Inuyasha gently pushed Kagome behind him and casually backhanded the one in front him, sending him backwards off his feet, into a crumpled heap on the path. When the other two didn't back off, he simply grabbed them by their throats and slammed their heads together with a sickening **_crunch!_** Dropping the unconscious pair, he looked at the last one and said, "Take your garbage, and get out of my sight, before I lose my temper."

Shocked at the speed with which his friends had been disabled, he shook his head and pulled out a long, thin bladed knife and said, "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but nobody touches us and gets away with it." As he spoke, he made quick slashes through the air towards Inuyasha and Kagome.

Growling, Inuyasha flexed his claws, but before he could strike, Kagome spoke up "Inuyasha, please don't kill him. I don't want to have to explain what happened to mama, okay?"

Listening to the girl's calm request, the knife-armed thug began to realize that maybe, just maybe, they had picked the wrong victims today. Before he could figure out what to do, it was too late. Moving faster than the eye could follow, Inuyasha snatched the last thug off of his feet, and slammed him into a tree next to the bench. Pulling the knife out of his hand, Inuyasha used it to pin the man's coat to the tree, so his feet were completely off the ground.

Walking back to Kagome, he took her hand and started back down the path they had come up earlier that day. As he passed the first of their assailants, who was just starting to get up, Inuyasha slammed his fist down on top of his head, just like he did to Shippo, only much, much harder. The man dropped to the ground, out cold, without making a sound. Neither Kagome nor Inuyasha even looked back as they left, with the four would-be muggers unconscious or out of commission.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Author's Note: Thanks very much for all the wonderful reviews, and I would like to apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. I'll try to do better in the future.

As they walked out of the park, Kagome spoke up, "Thank you."

"Huh? For what?" He asked, startled out of his pensive silence.

"For not hurting them too much. I really didn't want to have to explain anything to mama," she explained.

"Why would you have to explain anything? I mean, they weren't really a threat, so I didn't need to kill them, but even if I had, why would anyone care about some dead brigands? Especially your mother?" Inuyasha was puzzled at the thought of Kagome's mother being concerned about the well-being of someone who had threatened her daughter.

Kagome just sighed and said, "Usually, mama makes a point of **_not_** asking questions about what happens when I go through the well, but she's sure to ask how our walk was, and, well, I can't lie to her. It would just upset her to think that we might have been in danger, here in Tokyo."

"Danger! We weren't any danger, certainly not from those…scum," he said, offended pride in his tone.

"You know that, and I know that, but mama wouldn't see it that way. Don't worry, this way when she asks about our walk, and she will, I can answer truthfully, that we had a good time, and there weren't any problems. But if somebody died, or was hurt badly enough to require hospitalization, that would be a problem, and I'd have to tell mama, and that would just worry her. It's just simpler this way, that's all."

"Feh," Inuyasha grunted, shrugging at her explanation.

Changing the subject, Kagome asked, "Would you like to try something different for lunch? There's a Wacdonalds down the street, you might like it."

"Wac…what? What the heck is that?" He asked.

"Wacdonalds. It's a restaurant, they serve hamburgers, fries, stuff like that. Come on, give it a try, you might like it," she said, hoping that he would be willing to try it, since it had been a long time since she had been able to relax and go out for a burger and some fries.

He looked at her, and then at the restaurant she had pointed to, and finally said, "Feh. Why not."

Smiling happily, Kagome led him into the restaurant and up to the counter. "Inuyasha, would it be okay if I ordered for both of us? I'll get a variety of things, and then you can tell me what you like, alright?"

Inuyasha looked at the brightly lit counter, and the oddly dressed girls behind it who where taking peoples' money and giving them packages of food. Finally, he said, "Keh, do as you like."

Kagome giggled and said "Great! Now, hand over your wallet! This is your treat." Holding out her hand, she waited until Inuyasha dug out his wallet and put it in her hand. She opened up and took out a couple of bills and then handed the wallet back to him. "Come on, let's order!"

Leading him up to the counter, Kagome quickly ordered enough food for least four or five people. Handing the filled tray to Inuyasha, Kagome took the cups over to the drinks dispenser and filled one with Coke and the other with water. Turning away, she led him to an empty table and sat down with him to enjoy lunch.

Handing him the Coke first, she told him what each item was and let him carefully inspect and sniff them before he tried them. As he sampled the food, she ate her own lunch at a nice, leisurely pace and enjoyed his antics, especially when he actually tried to drink the Coke through a straw. The look on his face when the bubbles went up his nose had her giggling with glee, that she quickly suppressed when he glared at her.

Eventually, Inuyasha had finished all of the food except for the milkshakes, which Kagome had saved until the very end. Picking up all the wrappers and trash, she put it into the trashcan, stacked the tray on top and led the way out of the restaurant. When they reached the street, Kagome handed Inuyasha the chocolate milkshake and started on her vanilla shake.

Sniffing it carefully, Inuyasha took a small sip and then said, "Hey, this is really good! I bet Shippo would love this stuff! Can we bring some back through the well with us, Kagome?"

Kagome shook her head and said, "No, not really, it'd melt before we could get it back to Shippo. I could bring him chocolate milk, but that's about it. Sorry."

Shrugging, he said, "Oh well, if you can't, you can't. Maybe we can bring him through some other time, he'd love this stuff."

Kagome smiled at him, and kept sipping on her shake as they walked down the busy street. As they were crossing one of the side streets, she noticed a big sign advertising 'Sporting Goods" and she came to a sudden stop.

"Hey, Inuyasha, let's go down there and check out that store. You had asked about buying weapons, remember? Well, I think you might find something that interests you in there."

Turning, he looked at the store, shrugged and said, "Why not? Let's go take a look."

Walking together, they entered the store and stopped to look around. Seeing a section of bows, Kagome pointed to it and said, "Hey, let's see what they've got, okay?"

Walking down that aisle, Inuyasha stopped at a display of modern crossbows and asked, "What the heck are those? They don't look like any bows I've ever seen." Picking one up, he turned it over and over, looking at it closely. Finally, he put it back and said, "What's the point? It looks waaayyy too complicated. It'd probably break the first time you used it in a real fight."

Kagome looked down at the crossbow he had been examining and said, "I'm not certain, but I think that it's supposed to more accurate and more powerful than a regular bow. See," pointing to the cocking lever, she said, "that lets you pull the string back and hold it in place until you're ready to release the arrow. I bet it's a lot slower than my bow though." Turning away, she continued on towards the regular bows until Inuyasha called her back.

"Hey, look at this one, I think it's a toy or something, Kagome. What good is something this small?"

Turning back, Kagome looked at the little crossbow Inuyasha was holding in his hand. "I don't know, maybe it's a—pistol? Crossbow? I'm not sure…but, you know what, I bet Shippo could use it!"

"Shippo? Maybe, maybe he could. It'd give him something he could use to hunt with, anyways. Let's see what else they have here, maybe we can pick up some useful stuff to take back with us." Putting the tiny crossbow back, he followed Kagome towards the regular bows.

Kagome spent only a few minutes looking at the modern bows, trying out a couple to see if they might suit her better than the one she normally used. Uncomfortable with the weight and style, she went over to a display of replica bows in the style that she was familiar with. A salesman came over and asked Inuyasha if he needed any help.

"Good afternoon, sir. Could I be of any assistance to you in choosing a bow today?" The well dressed young man politely bowed to Inuyasha as he spoke. Although Kagome was the one examining the bows, he completely ignored her, and spoke only to Inuyasha.

Frowning at the salesman, Inuyasha answered him curtly. "Ask Kagome, she's the archer, not me. I prefer my sword."

Obviously embarrassed, the young man bowed to Inuyasha again, then turned to face Kagome and bowed to her. "Forgive me, I meant no insult. Please, how may I help you today?"

"I am interested in this style of bow, and I would like to string a couple of them to get feel for them if I may," Kagome said politely.

"Of course, what weight of pull would you like to try?" He asked, opening a cabinet under the rack of bows and removing several bowstrings and a device Kagome had never seen before.

"Actually, I'm not quite sure. May I…" she asked, holding out her hand for the bowstring the salesman was holding. A bit uncertain, he handed her the bowstring and offered her the unknown device, but she just shook her head, popped the string onto one end, and using her legs and back, quickly strung the bow.

Eyes wide, the salesman said, "Umm, I don't think I've seen a bow strung quite that way before. Where did you learn to do that, if I might ask?"

Grinning at him, she said, "Just a short ways outside Edo." Pulling the string back, she shook her head and said, "No, this one is a bit light for my taste. Do you have a stronger bow?"

Closing his mouth, which had dropped open as she strung and pulled the bow so easily, he said, "Y-yes, we do. Umm, that's a 25kg pull. Let's see," checking the rack, he pulled out another one out and offered it to her. "Perhaps this one will be better. I believe that it is, umm, 32kg pull."

Quickly unstringing the first bow, Kagome used the string and prepared the new bow. "Uhn! Oh, this is good! I think it's even a little stronger than my other one. How much is this one, if I might ask," she said to the salesman.

"I believe that this one goes for 52,500 yen. That includes the carrying case, 4 strings, and 12 arrows," the salesman quoted, almost directly, from a small placard located on the back of the display rack.

Sighing in disappointment, Kagome unstrung the bow and replaced it back on the rack. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can afford it today. I'll just continue to use the one I have." Turning to Inuyasha, she went on, "Let's keep looking. Maybe we can get some other stuff we need."

Inuyasha shrugged and grunted, "Feh."

As Kagome headed over towards the section with camping equipment, Inuyasha pulled out his wallet, quickly counted his money, and motioned the salesman over to him. "Set the bow she picked out aside, with an extra 3 dozen arrows. I want it to be a surprise, alright?" The salesman nodded, with a nice smile on his face, and Inuyasha left to catch up with Kagome.

When he had caught up with her she was checking out some sleeping bags, and she had a very small one in her hands, that was a bright blue, with yellow stars on it.

"What are you thinking, for Shippo?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think it would be nice if he had his own to sleep in. I'd also like to pick up some stuff for Kaede, too. Maybe a couple of blankets and a lantern for her hut. If you see anything you like, point it out to me, okay?" As she spoke, she continued to check out cooking utensils and waterproof tarps. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was drawn to a locked display of swords and knives, halfway down the aisle.

As he looked at the blades, the salesman from before came up and asked, "Would you like to see any of these blades more closely?"

"Yeah, I would. Open it up, already."

The salesman opened the case and stepped back to let Inuyasha inspect them more closely. Inuyasha scanned through and selected a small sheath knife that looked almost like a miniature katana, with a blade only 10cm long. He also picked out two more knives, another replica katana, but almost three times the length of the tiny one, and a second knife with a double-edged blade that tapered to a needle sharp point. "Here, how much will these be?"

"All together, these will be about 13,000 yen, sir." The salesman told him.

"Fine, wrap them up with the bow stuff, and we'll pick them up when we check out," Inuyasha said, trying not to let Kagome hear him.

"Thank you, sir. It will all be waiting for you at the check out counter." Bowing politely, he added, "If there is anything else sir, I'm at your service."

Nodding shortly, Inuyasha walked back over to where Kagome was picking out some things to use on the other side of the well. After about twenty minutes, and with his arms full of things she had chosen, Kagome finally sighed, and said, "I think this is probably enough, I don't want to spend all of your money in one place."

Inuyasha just grinned and said, "What else is it for, wench? It's not like I can use on the other side of the well, can I? Spend it all; I don't care. I can always sell some more of my mother's jewelry, can't I?"

At his words, Kagome just smiled back at him and said, "Okay, let's pay for this and go home, alright?"

"Feh, let's go," he said as he nodded towards the check out counter. As she led the way to the checkout, Inuyasha shifted his load of items around enough so that he could pull out his wallet. Setting down his stuff on the counter, he opened his wallet and started counting out his money; finally, he just said, "Here, Kagome, pay for this, okay?"

Turning around, Kagome took the money he held out to her, grinned a bright smile, and said, "Thanks Inuyasha, I think this will help out quite a bit."

After paying the total, Kagome handed him his change, not that there was much of that by this time, and started to pick up the filled bags. As she did, Inuyasha picked up the wrapped package that included her new bow and arrows, and then grabbed most of the other bags before she had chance to pick them up herself.

"Lets go, Inuyasha," as she spoke she noticed the long, wrapped package he was holding. "What's that, Inuyasha?"

"Keh, a surprise, wench. You can see it when we get home. Let's go." With that, Inuyasha led the way out of the store and headed back towards the shrine, with Kagome right alongside.

As they walked home in peaceful silence, Kagome spoke up only when they approached the street that led directly to the shrine. "Inuyasha, do you want to see how your ATM card works?"

"My what works? What are you talking about?"

"Your ATM card. Remember, when mama gave you the paper money, she also gave you an ATM card and told you what your PIN was. It's used to withdraw money from your bank account, even when the bank is closed, like today. Would you like me to show you how to use it?" she asked again, patiently.

"Huh. Yeah, sure. Although, I think I'm just going to leave it here, in your room when we go back through the well," Inuyasha answered her.

While they were talking, Kagome had stopped in front of an enclosed kiosk, set into the side of a building. Holding out her hand, she said, "May I have your ATM card please?"

Inuyasha opened his wallet again, found the plastic card Mrs. Higurashi had given him the day before, and handed it to Kagome. As she entered the enclosed kiosk, he followed her inside, watching her every move.

"This is the ATM, Automatic Teller Machine. What you do is take your card, make sure it matches just like the picture next to this slot, and slide it in. The machine should take the card all the way inside. Once it is gone, look at this screen down here and read the instructions." She pointed at the little glass panel that was set into the wall. On it appeared symbols written in green light. "Take your time, and make sure that you know what each of the options are. If you're not sure, just ask me, okay? To choose which option you want, you need to press the button closest to your choice. Today, the first thing we do is enter the PIN number. It's a four digit number; 1015. Press those numbers, in that order, on this keypad right here." As she was speaking, Kagome showed Inuyasha the keypad, and slowly pressed the correct digits. "When you have entered the PIN, press this green button, it's called the 'Enter' button. Any questions so far?"

"No, I think I've got it. Slide in the card, press 1,0,1,5, press 'Enter', that's it, right?"

"Right," Kagome agreed with a smile. "Next, you choose whatever option you want. For today, we're going to check the available balance, which will tell us how much money is in your account, and then withdraw some money from your savings account. Since we've already entered the PIN, we select 'Account Balance', wait until the screen changes and shows us the new options, then select 'Savings Account' and wait for the screen to update." Looking back up at Inuyasha, Kagome cocked an eyebrow, asking if he was still with her. He just nodded and smiled. Looking back down, she saw that the screen was now displaying his current account balance that read…

She blinked. Looked again. Then she slowly turned her head and looked at Inuyasha. Speaking quietly, she said, "You have a balance of 4,358,000 yen."

"Really! That's great, Kagome."

Taking a slow, calming breath, Kagome went on, "Normally, you can only withdraw 50,000 yen each day, so that's what we'll withdraw today, alright?"

"Sure Kagome, that sounds good," he said cheerfully.

She punched in the amount, showing Inuyasha how to enter the correct amount and verify it on the screen, before hitting the enter key. When everything was finished, she handed him his money and his ATM card and watched him return them to his wallet, which he then placed in his pouch.

After they left the kiosk and headed back towards the shrine, Inuyasha cleared his throat and asked very tentatively, "Um, Kagome?

"Yes, Inuyasha? What is it?" she replied very, very carefully.

"What's a 'million'?"

''_What's a million?' If it wasn't so funny, I think I'd cry' _Sneaking a look at him from the corner of her eye, Kagome saw that he was absolutely serious, and very afraid of her laughing at him. Taking a deep, even breath she let it out slowly and said, "I'm not sure of the best way to explain what a million is. Hmm, lets start with lunch, why don't we. Do you remember how much it cost for us to eat lunch today?"

Furrowing his brow, Inuyasha tried to recall how much she had paid, but realized that he hadn't noticed; he'd been distracted by the scents of all the different food. Finally, he said, "No, I'm sorry, but I don't."

She smiled at him and said, "That's okay. It cost about 3,000 yen to buy all of that food. By the way, when you buy food at a restaurant, it costs about two or three times as much, then if you had bought the food at a store, and prepared it yourself. The extra money is for the convenience of having someone else prepare it, and having it ready in a very short amount of time."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." He said.

"Now, you told me that your mother taught you to read and write, and to add and subtract, correct?" Kagome asked him, trying to get a good feel for what he knew, without insulting or angering him.

"Yeah, that's right."

"When counting, you understand ones, tens, and hundreds, right?" She asked.

"Uh huh," he replied shortly.

"Now, after that comes thousands, ten-thousands, and hundred-thousands. Did your mother teach you those numbers?" She asked carefully.

Thinking back to when his mother was alive was never easy or pleasant, but he tried to remember if she had ever mentioned any number greater than a thousand. Finally, he shook his head and said, "No, I don't think she did. I know up to a thousand, sort of. But I can't remember ever talking about anything bigger than that."

"That's okay, 'cause when you get right down to it, almost nobody can actually grasp any number greater than a thousand. Lots of people think that they can, but all they really understand is numbers up to several hundred, or maybe a thousand. What they can do is manipulate larger numbers and pretend that they understand them. That's what all the math tests and homework that I have to do is for. Teaching me how to manipulate the numbers."

"So, if nobody understands what the numbers mean, well, why use them?" he asked, puzzled by what he considered a waste of time and energy.

"Because math is a tool, and if you know how to use that tool correctly, you can accomplish many things, things that I don't really think you want to get into right now. Going back to your original question, if you can count up to ten, and do that ten times, you end up with one hundred, right?" Kagome explained, trying to read his expression to be certain he was understanding the concept.

"Sure, ten tens is a hundred," he said.

"So, how much is ten hundreds?" she asked him.

Pausing for only a second, he said, "It's a thousand of course."

"After this point, the concept is almost repetitive. Ten thousands is the same as ten thousand, ten ten thousands is one hundred thousand and ten hundred thousands is … one million." Holding her breath, Kagome watched as Inuyasha visibly processed the pattern. After about 30 seconds of silence, he spoke up.

"So, if ten hundreds is the same as one thousand, then…" he paused, thinking about the concept, "one thousand thousands should be…one million, right?" he asked her carefully.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha for just a moment, and then began to smile, and her smile grew brighter and brighter, until unable to restrain herself, she threw her arms around him and squeezed as hard as she could. "That's exactly right, in fact it's perfect. Hah, maybe you should take those stupid math tests for me." Letting go of him, she was practically skipping down the sidewalk as she walked beside him, with her hand resting on his arm.

As they walked on, Inuyasha kept thinking about the numbers she had told him about, and how much different things cost, until finally he spoke up again. "So, four million yen is a lot of money, but if we spent it all the time as fast as we've spent it yesterday and today, then it'd only last, what two months, maybe less, right Kagome?"

"Absolutely correct. That is a lot of money, but if we aren't thoughtful about how and why we spend the money, it'll run out pretty quick, probably when we need it the most," Kagome agreed.

"Heh. That's the way things work. They always go wrong at the worst possible time. I think it's because the gods have a really nasty sense of humor," he said with that little smirk he got sometimes.

By the time they had finished their discussion on money, they were back at the shrine and taking off their shoes to enter the house.

"Hi, mama. We're back!" Kagome called out as they started up the stairs carrying their packages.

"Hello, you two. Did you have a good walk?" she called from the living room.

"Yes, mama. We went to Wacdonalds for lunch, and then did a little shopping on the way home. I want to put our stuff away, and then I need to do some homework, alright?" She answered her mother as she headed to the stairs.

"That's fine, dear. I'll see you later," was her mother's response.

Kagome and Inuyasha went up to Kagome's room and emptied out the bags. Kagome sorted out the purchases and started packing them into her backpack. "Inuyasha, I don't think we can put everything into my backpack this time. Maybe we should go back and buy another one, what do you think?"

"Feh. We'll just take them through in bags. A lot of this will be left at Kaede's anyways, right?" As he answered her, he was unwrapping the large package he had bought earlier. "Here, I want you to have this."

Looking up from packing things away, Kagome saw him holding out the bow she had tried out earlier, as well as a quiver of arrows. Kagome held out her hands and accepted the weapon from Inuyasha, speechless at the realization that he had actually given her a gift.

She sat there, holding them tightly and slowly tears formed in her eyes as her thoughts tumbled back and forth in her head. Joy, sorrow, and always the underlying fear that he wasn't really seeing her, Kagome, but Kikyo. _'I hate this, I hate this! Why can't I stop thinking about HER? I just wish…I wish he could see _**me**_ as something more than her replacement…and…and…I'm not even that, not really, not when SHE's still walking around!'_ Trying desperately to stop her tears, or at least to not break down completely, Kagome hugged the bow and quiver to her breast, and bent forward, hiding her face.

Scenting her salty tears, Inuyasha stammered "K-Kagome? What's wrong? Don't you…don't you like it? I thought that you would be happy." Sighing sadly, he went on, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to give you something to…I didn't mean to make you sad."

Shaking her head, she said, with her face still hidden, "It's a wonderful gift, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just me. I'm sorry I'm crying; I know you don't like it when I cry." Sniffling back her tears, she wiped her face and looked up at him. "It's not your fault. You chose a wonderful gift. Thank you."

Kagome carefully stood up, placed the bow and quiver on her bed, stepped up to him, and hugged him very tightly. After a couple of minutes of just holding, and being held, in silence, Kagome loosened her grasp and stepped back from her friend. "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a minute." With that, she left the room, closing the door behind her and went into the bathroom for a chance to finish her cry in private.

Inuyasha sat down on her floor and looked at the other items he had purchased, and wondered if he should give her the knife he had picked out for her, or if it would just make her cry even more. He finally decided to show her what he'd bought for Shippo, and then give her hers. After waiting patiently, more or less, for about ten minutes, Kagome returned, with her face washed and no visible evidence of the earlier crying.

"Sorry about that," she said with a little smile.

"Keh. Umm, I wanted to show you something that I picked out for Shippo; this," showing her the tiny replica katana, "he can use like a regular dagger. I think it's small enough that he can keep it in his vest. This, on the other hand," he held out a much larger version of the replica katana she was already holding, "is big enough that he can use it in a real fight, if he has to."

Kagome looked at the two knives that Inuyasha had given her to inspect, uncertain if she was pleased or not at the thought of Shippo being armed. Finally she said, "These look very nice, and I think you're right. They should be just the right size for Shippo. But…why did you decide to give him knives? Why now?"

Inuyasha looked at her very seriously and said, 'Because of you. Because you made me aware of my responsibility towards Shippo…and indirectly, towards every other member of our pack. I may not fulfill my responsibilities very well, but it won't be 'cause I didn't try."

Kagome nodded back at him and said with a smile, "That's what I thought. You're a good man, Inuyasha, even if you do try to hide it." Looking back at the blades in her hands, she reached over and put them into the pack, and said, "I think you should give them to him yourself, as soon as we get home…"

Before she could go on, Inuyasha interrupted and said, "Kagome, there's something else. Something else that I want to give to you. Please, don't cry, okay?" Reaching behind his back, he pulled out another knife, the same size as the one he had picked out for Shippo, but shaped differently. "Here. This is for you. I think you should have a blade of your own, for when you run out of arrows, or when the fight is too close." His face almost painfully serious, he went on, "I'll protect you, forever. You know that. But, sometimes, I worry that I'll get there too late." He held the knife flat across both of his palms, and presented it to her.

Kagome looked into his eyes, trying to read him, trying to understand what was going through his mind. Slowly, she reached out with both of her hands and carefully took the blade out of his hands. "Thank you, Inuyasha." Looking at the knife, she said "I'll keep it with me, always."

"Good." With that, he got up and left the room without a word.

Kagome sat there for another ten minutes, just thinking, before she finally began packing their things away again. When she had finished, she pulled out her textbooks and began working on her homework once again.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Author's Note: Well, I finally managed to post 10 chapters, and it seems that people like what I'm writing. My replies to my kind reviewers are at the end of the chapter. Thanks.

Chapter 11 

After leaving Kagome to her studying, Inuyasha went back to his room and changed out of the modern clothes, and back into his usual bright red outfit. After that, he lounged back in the window, thinking about all the changes that had happened over the last few days; they were coming so fast, he couldn't really get comfortable with any of them.

'_I'm not sure how I feel about all of this, especially being pack leader…I wonder what everyone else is going to think when I tell them, although Kagome seems to be accepting it. In fact, I think she's actually **happy** about it. 'Course she was the one who figured out that we had responsibilities to Shippo first, and really, that's what started me thinking about the whole 'pack' thing.'_

Staring out the window a while longer, he sighed to himself, _'I'm still not sure how to treat Shippo, but I think that I'll concentrate on teaching him to fight and hunt. At least I know how to do those things, anyways. Hmm, Sango must have taught sometimes, in her village, maybe she knows some good tricks; I'll ask her when we get back. For now, I think I'll see if I can remember how those ronin I used to spy on would practice using their swords, that's how I first learned. Maybe if I try to work through that stuff while I'm still here, I can be ready to teach the runt when we get back.'_

With that, he leaped down from the window, landing lightly outside the house. Turning away, he headed to the far end of the shrine grounds, where he had seen a group of trees surrounding an open area, the purpose of which he had no idea.

As he walked, he scanned the shrine, looking for any signs of danger or any observers. Seeing no problems, when he reached his destination, he unsheathed Tetsusaiga, but kept it in its untransformed state. Slowly, forcing himself to remember exactly what he had done years earlier, when he first taught himself to use a sword, he began repeating the practice patterns as carefully as he could.

After about a half-hour, he felt that he had the patterns almost perfect, and so he began speeding up, until he was going through the exercises as a blur of red and silver. Even as he repeated them, again and again, he tried to think about any other ways of learning and teaching that he could use.

Finally, he remembered a conversation between Miroku and Sango that he had overheard a couple of months before. They had been talking about the battle with Jarumaru, and Sango had said that she liked going back over old fights in her head, trying to see where she could have done things differently, when Miroku had mentioned that he had been taught to refight battles, without an opponent, because it helped to show him details about the fight that he had forgotten, and that he found it a good way to practice when he didn't have a sparring partner…of course, that was when his hand started to wander towards Sango's backside, and she had hit him and walked off. But, still…maybe he could try refighting some of the old fights to see if he could figure out things he could teach Shippo.

Sliding to a stop, Inuyasha sheathed Tetsusaiga and closed his eyes and tried to remember some of his fights when he hadn't had a sword, or chose not to use it. Finally, he nodded and taking a deep breath, he picked a fight he had once had with a neko youkai and began replaying it again.

Clumsily at first, but slowly becoming more graceful and smooth, Inuyasha repeated each strike, dodge, and leap, just as it had occurred, almost five years before, not counting the fifty years he had been sealed to the tree by Kikyo's arrow. When he had finished the fight, he thought about how he could show Shippo how to use his fangs and claws first, and then a knife and sword, to fight against different sized opponents.

Nodding, Inuyasha began the fight again, this time he paused frequently, as he tried to adapt his actions to ones that Shippo could achieve. Once he had finished adapting the battle, he repeated again and again, faster each time, because he wanted to be able to show Shippo **_precisely_** what to do.

After two hours of this, Inuyasha had adapted four of his battles from his youth into, he hoped, useful training fights for Shippo. Deciding that he had enough to at least start at training the kitsune, he started going over some of his more recent battles, including two of his fights with Koga and all three of his fights with his brother. As he refought Koga, he remembered how fast he was, with two Shikon shards embedded in his legs, and he consciously tried to push his own speed up as much as he could, trying not so much to match Koga's speed, but rather to see if he could anticipate his moves. As he whirled, faster and faster, he didn't notice the old man watching him from outside the main shrine office.

Wrapped up in his memories of old battles, Inuyasha was brought back to the present by Kagome's scent coming closer.

"What…?" Spinning around, he saw her walking towards him, carrying a pitcher and some cups.

"Hi. You look like you've been busy. Would you like something cold to drink?" she asked, holding the pitcher up and ready to pour into a cup.

Sheathing Tetsusaiga, he pushed his hair out of his eyes and nodded, "Yeah, that sounds good." Accepting a cup of lemonade, he sniffed at it carefully, took a cautious sip, his eyes widening at the surprising taste. Deciding that he liked it, he took another, longer drink and said, "This is good! What's it called?"

Kagome smiled at him and said, "It's called lemonade. I like it a lot when it's hot, or when I'm really thirsty." Seeing that his cup was almost empty, she held out the pitcher again, and asked, "Would you like some more?"

Hastily swallowing the rest of the drink, Inuyasha held out the cup. "Yes, it's really good! It does a good job of easing my thirst." When she had finished filling his cup, he went on. "Umm, is there any way to bring this 'lemonade' through the well? I know you bring fruit juice back for Shippo, but I think everyone would like this stuff."

Kagome shrugged and said, "I could bring back some powdered lemonade, that's how I bring the fruit juice, in powdered form. Sure, I'll pick some up before we go. Anyways, mama just told me that it's almost time for dinner, so if you're hungry, let's go in and get washed up, so we can eat."

Inuyasha nodded, and started walking back to the house alongside the young girl. After a moment, Inuyasha asked "Speaking of going back, how soon will you be ready to go back?"

Kagome started nervously, "Umm, I really would like to stay until Tuesday evening. I have three tests that I need to take in the morning, and then I'll be ready to go. If that's okay?" As she spoke, she was hoping that she wouldn't have to fight him over the two days in school.

Inuyasha just looked at her and then asked, "Tuesday? That's two more days, right?" Seeing her nod, he went on, "Sure, that shouldn't be a problem, but…" he paused, looking at her very seriously, "I want to spend some of that time getting ready to deal with the runt, okay?"

Shocked at his agreement, she said, "Okay, I mean, that's one of the reasons I wanted you to stay here, remember?"

Taking her seat at the dining table, Inuyasha beside her, she thought _'This is sooo weird, Inuyasha **never** lets me stay here without a fight! Usually I have to 'sit' him at least once before he'd even consider letting me stay two extra days! And he wants to 'get ready to deal with the runt' before we go back. It's like I'm seeing a side of him that has been buried deep inside. I wonder if it has to do with his realizing that he's a pack leader?' _As she pondered the changes that she was seeing in her friend, she was enjoying the baked fish and stir-fried vegetables that her mother had prepared, but not paying particular attention to the conversation at the table. Sota brought her back by saying loudly, "Kagome! Kagome! Did you hear me?"

"What? Sorry, Sota. I was thinking about some other stuff. What did you say?" Kagome asked, shaking her head to clear it of her speculations.

Sighing loudly, and very dramatically, Sota said, "I want to go to the big park, you know the one with the bike ramps and stuff, and mom said it's okay, as long as you come along with me. So, do you have your homework done yet? And would you **_please_** come with me? I really want to try out some of stunts Jiro showed me yesterday? Please?"

Kagome looked at her brother's eager face, thought about her homework, most of which was done, and how little time she actually spent with her baby brother, and said "Sure, Sota. After dinner, okay?"

Practically bouncing out of his seat, Sota shouted "Thanks, Kagome! Hey, Inu no nii-chan, would you like to come too? I could show you some really cool tricks on my bike! Please!"

Inuyasha hid a smile at Sota's happiness, and simply grunted "Keh."

Giggling at Sota's look of confusion, Kagome said, "That means 'Yes' Sota." Turning back to her dinner, Kagome finished up quickly and started helping her mother with the dishes. Sota dashed up the stairs, calling for Inuyasha to "Please, come see my stuff," back over his shoulder.

After seeing Sota put on his biking gear, Inuyasha grabbed a change of modern clothes and went into the bathroom to wash up before putting on the clean clothes. Once he was finished, he knocked on Kagome's door and asked, "Kagome, can I come in?" Having been 'sit' before because he didn't wait for her to answer, he was careful to make sure it was okay, before he entered.

"Come on in, I'm almost ready to go." At this, he opened the door and stepped in. Kagome was sitting on her bed, putting on her shoes. She was dressed in a different skirt, a longer one than what she normally wore, and of a light blue color, instead of her usual green. She had on a white, short-sleeved top, embroidered with tiny butterflies along the edges.

He froze, looking at her, it was like he was seeing her for the first time. _'She…she's pretty! Really, really pretty! How could I not have seen this before? Arrgh! What's wrong with me? It's not like I haven't seen her before! Why should her wearing different clothes make such a difference?' _"Umm, so, where are we going, anyways? Back to the park we were at this morning?"

Shaking her head, she said, "No, this park is actually quite a bit bigger, and in a different direction. It's also a little farther away. Not much, but a little bit." Jumping to her feet, she said. "Okay, I'm ready to go." Picking up her purse from her dressing table, she put a book from the stack on her desk inside, and swung it over her shoulder. Smiling at Inuyasha, she led the way out of her room and down to where Sota was waiting, standing next to his bicycle.

Looking at the older teens, Sota opened his mouth to make a comment about how nice Kagome was dressed, and ask her what the occasion was, but decided not to, since she was doing him a favor, and well…he really liked Inuyasha, and maybe if Inuyasha liked Kagome, he might stay around longer. All he said instead was, "Hi, you guys. Let's go."

Together, the three of them started down the shrine steps, with Sota struggling to keep the bike under control. Without any warning, Inuyasha picked up the bike and carried it down to the street. Handing it back to Sota, Inuyasha asked, "Which way, now?"

Kagome pointed down the street, and said "This way, it's a couple of blocks past my school. It'll take 15 or 20 minutes to get there, and then once in the park, we have to go to the area set up for bikes and skateboards."

Sota put on his bike helmet and hopped on his bike, and said, "I want to ride there, but mom said I had to stay close to you, so I'm just going to ride slow and circle around you guys, okay?"

Inuyasha acknowledged Sota with a simple "Feh."

Kagome said "Okay, Sota," and reached over and took Inuyasha's hand in hers, and began walking down the street, oddly at peace, as she resolutely put all of her concerns aside, determined to enjoy the rest of the day with Inuyasha.

As they approached Kagome's middle school, Inuyasha broke the peaceful silence. "So, what kind of 'tests' do you have to take this week?"

"Tests?" she repeated, puzzled at his interest. "Well, I missed a Math test and an English test while I was gone, and I have a Biology test to take as well. The Math and English tests shouldn't be too hard, since both of them cover material I've been studying all along. Unfortunately, the Biology test is about stuff that I haven't seen before…"

Interrupting, Inuyasha asked "What kind of stuff, I thought that you had that 'Biology' book with you, didn't you?"

"It's on insects, and their internal structure," she shook her head, "and while I was out, the teacher jumped to an entirely different section of the text, so none of the stuff I was studying will be of any help." Shrugging her shoulders, she went on, "Anyways, I'll just have to study tonight and tomorrow night and hope for the best. One thing though, we have to start dissecting on Tuesday, and knowing how squeamish most of my classmates are, that's not going to be a lot of fun."

"Hey, Kagome, **_you're_** squeamish, you scream whenever you have to pick a worm up in garden. I bet you pass out if you have to dissect worms and bugs." Sota said laughing, as he caught up with them once more.

Inuyasha barked a sharp laugh, and said, "Kagome is soft-hearted, but she'll do what ever she has to do. Anyways, what kind of word is that? **_Squeamish? _**It doesn't mean anything, does it?" He looked back and forth between Sota and Kagome before going on, "Besides, after having to pull shards out of youkai eyeballs, brains and steaming guts, I don't think she's going to have any problems with a little worm."

Kagome grimaced at his description, but agreed, saying "Ick. But, I really don't think dissection is going to be too hard. It's got to be better than pulling out shards, or patching you guys up after some of the fights."

Turning left after passing the school, they kept going until the street ended at the entrance to a large, wooded park.

"Kagome, can I ride ahead and see if I can find Jiro and the others? I promise I won't start on any stunts until you guys get there, but I want to find my friends." Sota asked eagerly.

"Go ahead, but be careful, okay," she said, her last words spoken to the back of his head as he sped off into the park.

Kagome laughed at the sight of her brother speeding off on his bike, and even Inuyasha smiled a little.

A few minutes later, Kagome and Inuyasha found a place to sit on a bench overlooking the collection of ramps, quarter- and half-pipes and other obstacles that were being used by about a dozen boys and girls, ranging in age from 7 to 15. The two of them sat down and relaxed, just watching Sota and the others riding their bikes, and performing (or at least trying to) a huge variety of jumps and stunts.

After a few minutes, Kagome spoke up. "Inuyasha, may I ask you something?"

"Huh? What is it," he responded, still watching the antics below them.

"Before dinner, I saw you working out. I've never seen you do anything like that before, I mean, I've seen you fight all the time, but I've never seen you **_practicing_**. Is it that you normally do it in private, or what?"

He finally turned his amber gaze on her, and slowly answered. "No, I really don't do anything like that, not really. It's just that…I was trying to figure out how to teach Shippo, and I was trying something I heard Miroku and Sango talking about." He paused, staring at Kagome thoughtfully, "I guess you could say I was fighting some battles over again, only this time I was trying to break them down so that I could show the runt how to do it. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be."

"Why, Inuyasha? You're one of the best fighters in the Sengoku Jidai, why would it be hard to show Shippo how to fight?"

Startled he asked, "You, you think I'm a good fighter?"

Kagome looked at him and said, "Inuyasha, I've seen you fight monsters that were not only huge in size, but huge in power. You always find a way to defeat them. You're very strong, Inuyasha, one of the strongest people I've every seen. But, you know what? That's not what really counts. What matter's is that you don't give up, you never quit, and always, **_always_** protect your friends."

Kagome reached up and cupped his blushing cheek in her hand. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, but it's the truth. My god, Inuyasha, you've beaten **_Sesshomaru, THREE TIMES!_** You utterly destroyed Ryukotsusei in single combat; Menomaru, Princess Kaguya and who knows how many others that you've fought and defeated. You can act like a real stubborn jerk sometimes, but," she shrugged "hey, I'm just as stubborn, sometimes."

Lifting his hand, he covered hers, pressing her hand to his cheek. "Kagome…" Unsure of what he wanted to say, of even how he was feeling, he finally just sat there, looking into her eyes in silence.

Kagome smiled gently at the hanyou sitting next to her, until she heard a voice call out her name, "Higurashi-san! How are you?"

'_Noooo! Why now? Why can't he just give me a break?' _Moaning softly, she leaned forward and laid her head against Inuyasha's chest, and loosely wrapped her arms around him.

"Kagome? Are you okay?" Inuyasha asked her, a bit worried.

"I'm okay, Inuyasha. I am just not in the mood to deal with Hojo tonight." Sighing, she sat up, unwrapped her arms from around him, and turned to face the approaching Hojo.

Politely, she said "Good evening, Hojo. What brings you to the park tonight?"

"I like to use the trails to go jogging; these are exceptionally nice. If you don't mind my asking, why are you here, it's quite a ways from the shrine, isn't it?" Looking at Inuyasha curiously, he hoped that whoever this boy was, he wasn't a close friend of hers. Unfortunately, from what he had seen as he was walking up, he probably was.

Sighing again, she bit the bullet. "Inuyasha, may I introduce a boy from my school; Hojo-san. Hojo, this is my very good friend, Inuyasha, he is staying with my family for a few days." Hoping, that by keeping the introduction as short as was politely possible, Hojo would take the hint and leave them alone, Kagome held her breath, waiting.

Looking disappointed, and a little bit sad, Hojo smiled and said, "Well, I'm glad that you felt up to getting some fresh air. I expect that I'll see you at school tomorrow. Good night." Nodding politely, Hojo left.

Turning back to face Inuyasha, she smiled at him and said, "Thank you, I appreciate your letting me deal with him, I was worried that you might hurt him."

"Feh. I recognized his scent from the other day. I figured that you still wanted to deal with him yourself, so…I just let you do it. Besides, if he didn't respond to a gentle hint from you, I'd get my chance to 'persuade' him my way." He grinned widely, showing his fangs to her, in a way he almost never did, and thought to himself, _'Besides, she keeps on saying that her time is more peaceful, and that the women here are… 'liberated'? I guess that means that I'm supposed to let her deal with her own problems…but I _**want**_ to do that. I want to be the one who takes care of her! Still, I must have done something right for her to be smiling like that.'_

"Anyways, getting back to teaching Shippo, why don't you try showing him how you fight, using the things that you were practicing earlier, and just…see how it goes?" Kagome suggested. "That's what I'm going to do. I may make mistakes, but at least it'll be a start."

Inuyasha looked at the girl sitting next to him, and slowly nodded his head. "Okay, I'll try it and see what happens. And I think I'll talk to Sango, too; maybe she'll be able to help? Feh! I hate asking anyone for…" Turning his face away, he went on, "It's hard for me to…"

Kagome smiled and finished for him. "You don't like asking for help; I know that you think is a sign of weakness, but it really isn't. It's a sign of wisdom when you admit that other people can do things that help you."

Inuyasha just shrugged and said nothing.

Realizing that he was uncomfortable, Kagome dropped the subject, and leaned back on the bench and watched Sota and his friends ride their bikes in silence. The two of them sat watching for another hour, just enjoying the evening, until the group of riders split up and headed for their homes.

Sota rode his bike up to them and asked, somewhat breathlessly, if they were ready to go home.

Kagome and Inuyasha stood up, and Inuyasha said, "Fine," while Kagome simply smiled at her brother.

The walk back to the shrine was quiet and the silence wasn't broken until the shrine steps were in view.

"Kagome, when are you going back?" Sota suddenly asked his sister.

"Hmm? Oh, not until Tuesday evening, why?" Kagome replied.

"Well, it's just that you still owe me a story, that's all. And I wanted to be sure that I got hear it before you left, cause the last one you told was great!" Sota explained excitedly.

Kagome laughed, and said, "Fair enough. If I can, I'll tell you the story tonight; if not, tomorrow night for sure."

With that, the three of them climbed the steps and went inside for the night.

Author's Note: I'd like to thank everyone who so kindly reviewed the first 10 chapters of my story. **_Sirei_**: Yes, I loved 'Present Time' very much, and took inspiration from there for some of my story. As for Kagome, she may only be 16, but for the last year she has put her life on the line to find and purify the Shikon shards and to help people who are in need…you can't do that without gaining some maturity and an adult perspective. **_wj: _**Thanks, and I'll try to update regularly. **_Davi Man:_** Thank you, I will. **_Anonymous:_** Thank you, I've know some truly caring and compassionate women and they are my models for Kagome. **_Stephanie:_** Shippo is seldom shown as other than a background character or a reason to slam Inuyasha to the ground…I think there's more to him than that. I do have some other story ideas, but they'll have to wait a while. **_InuYashasLoveLorn: _**Thanks, I'll try. **_parvatilotus:_** Thank you for the kind words, I like a story that isn't too dark, so that's what I was trying for. **_Irish leprechaun: _**Thank you. Kagome is Shippo's 'mommy' in every way that counts. It was her **_choice_**. **_nymphminxgoddess: _**I'm glad that you like it and I'll try to update regularly. **_palikani:_** I have every intention of finishing this (hopefully it won't take me too long). My wife says I'm an incurable optimist, so I always think the glass is half full, never half empty. **_InuYashasLoveLorn: _**Thanks again for the kind words. **_wolf of raven: _**Thank you, I'll try. **_Notofnone:_ ** I'm glad you liked it, and even happier that you wrote a review. Thanks. **_parvatilotus: _** I'm glad I made your day and helped you smile. Thanks. **_Davi Man: _**Thank you. Let's face it, a mugger or even a group of muggers are pretty much inconsequential to Inuyasha, and even Kagome wouldn't be worried about them… just what her mama might say. **_TimeShifter:_** Thanks. They will talk about being 'mates' later. Neither is really ready for that step…yet. **_InuYashasLoveLorn: _**Humor is essential to maintaining sanity in a world that is as chaotic as the Sengoku Jidai…Miroku and Shippo help a lot in that sense. **_palikani: _**Thanks again, I'll update as often as I can. **_Angel8818: _**Glad that you like the title as well as the story. I'll update soon.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Author's Note: Thanks for the kind reviews, I'll update soon.

Chapter 12 

The next morning, Kagome was awakened by her new alarm clock, which she had placed on the floor, next to her night table, rather than on top of it. The wisdom of her choice was obvious when she was unable to find it before she was completely awake, thus saving the poor clock from an untimely demise.

"Ohhh. I hate Mondays." Groaning softly, she got up, made her bed and dressed for another day at school. Walking into the bathroom, she washed her face, brushed her hair and teeth, and decided that she could face the world at last. Leaving the bathroom, she passed Sota as she went down to breakfast.

To her surprise, Inuyasha was already at the table, dressed in a different set of modern clothes. "Good morning, everyone," Kagome said as she sat down to start her breakfast.

"Good morning, my dear, did you sleep well?" Her mother asked, as she handed her a plate filled with food.

"Yes, I did," looking over at Inuyasha, Kagome asked, "Why are you dressed in these clothes, Inuyasha?"

"What? Did I get it wrong?" he asked, looking down at his clothes worriedly.

"No, not at all. Everything's fine, I was just curious as to **_why,_** that's all," she answered the hanyou.

"Feh."

Realizing that he didn't plan on answering her, Kagome just shrugged and went on with her breakfast. While eating her breakfast, Kagome listened to Jii-chan's plans to visit an old friend at an outlying temple and her mother's plan to go to the dentist with Sota, happy that she didn't have to go for another three months.

After clearing the breakfast dishes, Sota and her mother left for the dentist's office, and Kagome picked up her book bag and headed for the door.

"Bye, I'm going now, grandpa. Inuy…" Kagome broke off as she saw Inuyasha right behind her, putting on his hat. "Umm, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Keh. I'm coming with you, of course," was his reply.

"But, you can't come to school with me, you know. You're not allowed," Kagome said in surprise.

"Keh, I know that! I'm just going with you, that's all. Besides, I want to see where everything is around here. I like knowing the territory." _'I keep getting an occasional faint scent of youkai…not near here, but still, I want to be sure its safe here in her time.'_

Kagome looked at Inuyasha for a moment, and then said, "Okay, let's go." With that, she headed out the door, and across the shrine towards the street with Inuyasha right next to her.

Reaching the street, they turned and started walking towards her middle school. Within a few steps, Eri called out Kagome's name and ran up to join them, giving Inuyasha a very curious look, but she refrained from saying anything to him. For the moment.

As they walked down the street, Kagome and Eri talked about school, although it was mostly Eri filling her in with the gossip she had missed, and Kagome asking about some things she had missed. As they approached a large cross-street, Inuyasha spotted Kagome's other two friends waiting at the corner, obviously looking for Kagome and her friend. Suppressing a sigh, he rolled his eyes at Kagome, who just smiled at his antics.

When they had joined up, one of them said, "Hi, my name is Yuka, and you're Inuyasha, right?"

Inuyasha looked at her, then grunted "Keh"

Undaunted, Yuka persisted, "Are you going to be attending school with Kagome? You'll need to get the proper uniform from the main office, but they should be able to fit you, no problem. Are you in the ninth grade like Kagome, or are you older than her? You look like you're a little older." Pausing to take a quick look at his face, she went on "How long have you been going out together? Did you just move here, or are you just transferring to our school?…"

"Baka wench! Why are you asking so many questions? Do you even breath!" Inuyasha burst out, cutting off her string of questions.

The other girls started laughing as Yuka blushed and stammered an apology. "I'm sorry, I sometimes just say what's in my head, without thinking first."

Inuyasha just looked at her, and said, "Feh."

Kagome smiled, and slid her arm into his and said, "Yuka, I already told you as much as you need to know. Don't pester Inuyasha, please." Adroitly changing the subject, Eri soon had everyone talking about their new biology section, which included dissection of worms and frogs. At the mention of dissecting frogs both Kagome and Inuyasha glanced at each other and Kagome whispered, "Remember the Toad Prince?"

Inuyasha just snorted and shook his head at her, as he remembered how she had driven the toad out with fire from one of her modern things, and what an idiot Nobunaga had been.

Pretty soon, they reached the entrance to the school grounds, but as they turned to enter the school, Kagome stopped with Inuyasha and said, "I'll catch up in a second, okay?" and waved her friends on their way, pausing only until they were out of earshot, she went on, "Inuyasha, will you be okay today?"

"I'll be fine, wench. I'm just going to do some walking around, that's all. Besides, there's something odd around here, and I want to see if I can pin it down."

"Odd? Odd how?" she asked curiously.

"If I knew that, it wouldn't be 'Odd', now would it?" He grinned at her, and added, "I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to come home, this afternoon."

Kagome looked at him for a few seconds, then smiled and said, "I'd like that. I get out of school at about 2:45, and I'll look for you here, okay?"

"Keh."

Kagome turned and ran to catch up with her friends, looking back over her shoulder just before she went through the door to see Inuyasha still watching her.

"So, Kagome, is he going to be walking you to school all the time now?" Ayumi asked, a look of frank curiosity on her face.

Kagome shrugged and said, "I doubt it. He has other responsibilities, and really can't be here all the time."

Together, the girls entered their classroom, and sat down for their first class. Kagome tried to concentrate on her sensei, but her mind kept wandering to where Inuyasha was, and every time it did, she once again became aware of his presence in her head.

During Biology, she turned in her extra credit essay on Wolf Packs and a thick packet of papers on the material she had missed. Kagome smiled, thanked her sensei and started to leave when her sensei stopped her and asked, "How did you like the topic I assigned you?"

"Very much, Takashi-sensei, at first, it seemed like a very unusual subject, but the more I read and thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. And I found that some of the concepts could even be applied to people." Kagome answered with enthusiasm.

Her teacher smiled back at her and said, "I'm glad you enjoyed it, and even more that it was helpful to you. Tomorrow I plan to give you some more material for the next extra credit assignment; it will be a different topic, but related, alright?"

"Of course, sensei. I look forward to getting them," was all Kagome could say.

The next class she had, right before lunch, was PE. Oddly enough, even with all her 'illnesses' Kagome usually did well at PE, especially the individual sports. Today however was a surprise for everyone. After changing clothes and taking attendance, they were led outside to the large playing field, where a dozen targets had been set up.

"I wonder what we'll be doing today?" Ayumi asked excitedly.

"I don't know," answered Eri, while Yuka just shrugged.

"Archery." Kagome said. "Has to be archery, why else would they have targets set up like that. No way would we be using guns in the city, and I don't think anyone could throw something all the way to those targets. It's archery."

Her friends looked at the targets, then back at Kagome and nodded in unison. "We're doomed. Totally doomed," was the sentence pronounced by Eri.

"Why are we doomed?" Kagome asked, mystified at their gloomy faces. "What's wrong?"

"I heard a rumor last week, that a new competition was starting, and that failure, or even low scores in the competition would mean a lot of extra time here at school." Eri explained.

Kagome just looked at her, and said, "So, what's the problem? They have to teach us how first, right?" But Eri just shook her head and said, "No, each group has to get a minimum collective score or …" she drew her finger across her throat dramatically.

Kagome looked at her, then at her friends and asked, "So, can I be in your group, or have they already been formed?"

"Umm, you're already in our group. The coaches did that last week," Yuka explained.

Kagome just smiled and said, "Feh. Piece of cake." After that, no matter how much her friends asked and begged, she refused to say anything else. At last it was their group's turn to use the bows. Kagome was very pleased to see that both modern and traditional bows were available for the students' use, and she kept silent while the coach explained the safety rules and the basics of using a bow.

Finally, Eri tried first. Kagome watched as she followed the coach's directions, and managed to hit the target with only one of her 6 arrows. Ayumi and Yuka did no better with their attempts, and Kagome realized that none of the girls in her class had managed to get more than two arrows into the target, and only one girl managed to hit close to the center of the target.

When Kagome's turn came, she quickly checked out the traditional bows, until she found one that wasn't TOO light, although the coach was beginning to look a little annoyed at her delays.

Smiling, she stepped up to the line drawn on the grass, slipped the quiver over her shoulder into a comfortable position, and nodded at the coach. Sighing dramatically, the coach explained what she was to do, and finished by saying "I know you've been ill a lot this year, but please try your best, Higurashi-san."

"Thank you, I will." With that she slipped an arrow out of the quiver, nocked it, pulled back and released in a single smooth motion. Before the arrow had even hit the target, she had a second one nocked and was starting to pull back. In a deceptively smooth, but fast flow, Kagome sent all six arrows that she had in her quiver into the center of the target in less than 10 seconds.

Turning to face the coach, she asked, with an absolutely straight face, "Is that the way I should be doing it, sensei?"

The coach looked at her, his mouth open, then finally he shook his head, and walked down to the target in silence. Coming back, he said, "Higurashi-san, each of the arrows is in the exact center of the target, the shafts are actually touching, and…I don't think…I mean, I saw you do it, and I still don't believe it." He shook his head, and walked over to speak with the head coach, who had been watching the whole thing.

Kagome turned to her friends and said, "So, if each teams results are added together, do you think that will be good enough?"

"Good enough, oh yeah, I think it'll be good enough," Eri said shaking her head as she spoke. "Kagome, I had no idea you could do that, why…"

She was interrupted by Yuka and Ayumi, who both squealed and hugged Kagome. As they were congratulating her, somewhat incoherently, the head coach came over with the coach who had witnessed their group's attempts.

"Higurashi-san, I am somewhat surprised at how well you did that. I had no idea anyone in our school had that level of skill, especially, please forgive me, especially someone who has been as ill as you have been this last year." He said, a look of concerned admiration crossing his face.

Kagome thought to herself _'Oh, damn. Think fast girl, he's gonna want to know something, like RIGHT NOW!'_

Clearing her throat, Kagome spoke softly, her eyes downcast, "Archery was suggested to me as a form of…physical therapy…that I could practice, at least a little, even when ill. I have had a great deal of time to practice." Hoping that he would accept her explanation, Kagome held her breath.

"I see. Well, it seems that your practice has served you well," he said, looking at her carefully. "Well, I would have to say that your group has definitely passed the minimum proficiency required, although I don't think that anyone expected such an unusual result. Nonetheless, your group is exempt from mandatory practice daily, although I recommend that your friends spend at least some time practicing, either here or with you. In addition, your group may go to lunch early today. Dismissed." With that, he turned and left the playing field.

Kagome and her friends looked at each other and started smiling. "Yea!" they shouted together and ran off towards the locker room.

After changing back into their school uniforms and getting their lunches, they headed back outside to their favorite lunch spot, under a large elm tree in the corner of the schoolyard.

After settling down and opening up their lunches, Yuka finally asked, "So, Kagome, when did you learn to use a bow like that, I never knew you did that?"

Kagome just laughed and said, "I told the coach the truth; I started using a bow last year, it was recommended as a way of improving my health and strength." _'And that's almost the truth, too. If I hadn't start using a bow, I doubt I'd be nearly this healthy, after all being dead could be considered 'unhealthy' right?_ Going on, she added "And to be honest, I never really considered that skill with a bow would be interesting to anyone. It's not like it's a real useful skill in the modern world, is it?"

"I don't know, it was sure useful at keeping us out of an extra hour of school each day, wasn't it?" Eri said, smiling happily.

Her friends agreed, smiling as they finished eating their lunches. As they were collecting their trash, the bell for lunch finally rang, causing all four of them to start laughing.

"So, now what?" Eri asked, getting to her feet.

"Well, I want to do some research in the library," Kagome said, as she got up also, "so that's where I'm going, anyone coming along?" Eri and Ayumi nodded, but Yuka said, "No, I need to talk to the chorus director. I'll see you in English class." She waved as she headed off towards the music hall.

The three girls chatted about nothing in particular as they walked to the library. Inside, Kagome logged on to one of the Internet PC's and started searching for some more information on social patterns of wolf packs and other canine types. As she found any articles that looked like they might be useful, she hit the print button and kept on looking, rather than getting caught up in reading as she went along. At the end of thirty minutes, just before lunch period ended, Kagome had another stack of print outs, almost two inches thick. Groaning to herself, she straightened them out, put them in a borrowed file folder, and headed to her next class.

By the time school was dismissed, she was pleased that everything had been going so smoothly, and that Inuyasha was already waiting for her, just outside school grounds.

As they walked down the stairs, Eri asked, "So, do you think Inuyasha is going to come meet you this afternoon, Kagome?"

"Hmm? Yes, of course he is. He told me that this morning, and he's already here."

"Already here, why do you think he's already here, Kagome?" asked Ayumi, puzzled by her friends certainty.

Kagome started to speak, then realized that she couldn't tell them _'Because I can feel him in my head, that's why'_ so she said instead, "Because he always keeps his word. He might be late, that's certainly possible, but he would certainly come to meet me."

"Wow, you mean that he never lies?" Yuka asked, not quite sure that Kagome had meant it that way.

Kagome grinned, "No, I don't mean that he never lies, I mean that he always keeps his word. There is a difference."

Her friends looked at her for a moment, and then just then, as they walked out they saw Inuyasha leaning up against the main gate of the school. As the four of them walked across the schoolyard, Inuyasha watched Kagome intently, standing up straight only when she reached him.

"About time," was all he said.

Kagome just shook her head and smiled up at him. "Gracious as ever."

"Keh, if you want grace and smooth speeches, go talk to Sesshomaru."

"Oh sure, he talks real smooth, but I bet he wouldn't catch me if I jumped, would he?" she asked, smirking at him.

"Heh, he'd watch you go splat, and then just be pissed because you got blood on his clothes." Inuyasha smirked back, and stepped up next to her and headed on down the street.

"Sesshomaru? Who's Sesshomaru, Kagome?" Eri asked, curious about this person that they clearly both knew well.

"Eh? Oh, umm, well he's Inuyasha's older brother, Eri." Kagome said, startled to realize that she had been talking about someone from the Sengoku Jidai.

"Hey, half-brother **_only_**, and don't you forget it, wench," Inuyasha shot back, irritated to be reminded of the presence of the other girls.

"Hey, don't talk to Kagome like that!" Yuka said, upset at the boy's rudeness.

"Grrrr." Inuyasha growled at girl who had just chastised him, then his head snapped away, and he was looking across the street at a small group of older teens walking in the opposite direction. _'What the hell was that? I'd swear that was the scent of wolf-youkai! And it's coming from those punks over there.'_

"Inuyasha? What is it?" Kagome asked, worried about his reactions. "Is something wrong?"

"Not sure. Just be careful." Watching the teens walking away for a few seconds, Inuyasha scanned his surroundings carefully, while moving closer to Kagome. "Let's get back to shrine. Now."

Seriously worried now, Kagome just nodded and said, "Okay." As she headed home, she moved closer to Inuyasha, holding on to his arm tightly. After checking for any visible danger, she closed her eyes and reached out with her inner sense, trying to spot any **_invisible_** danger. Walking along with her eyes closed, she couldn't sense any danger, and the only youki she could sense was Inuyasha's.

"Uh, Kagome? Why are your eyes closed, are you alright?" Yuka asked worriedly.

"Hmm? Yes, Yuka, I'm fine, just a little tired, that's all." She said. _'As if I could tell her what I was really doing. And I am a little tired.'_

After that, her friends just walked along quietly, not wanting to upset or tire her any more than she already was. Yuka and Ayumi turned off to head home, quietly saying goodbye to Eri, Kagome and Inuyasha.

At the shrine steps, Eri finally broke the silence. "Kagome, get some rest, okay? And Inuyasha? Take good care of her, please?" Then she turned and headed home alone.

Kagome watched her for a moment, then Inuyasha spoke up. "I like her. She's a good friend to you."

Kagome's mouth dropped to hear **_Inuyasha_** say that about any human, especially one he had only seen two or three times. "Thank you, Inuyasha. That means a lot coming from you." Starting up the steps, she added, "We need to talk."

"Yeah, we do," he agreed seriously.

Entering the house, Kagome called out, "Mama, we're home." She listened, but didn't hear anything, so she asked, "Inuyasha, is anyone in the house?"

He took off his hat and swiveled his ears around a bit, and said, "No, we're alone."

"Good. Let's go up to my room and talk. Sota won't be home for at least half an hour, so we have a little time and privacy." She went up the stair and into her room, dropping her book bag on her desk and sat down in the chair. Bending over she pulled off her socks, and rubbed her bare foot. "Okay, spill it. What was it that got your attention on the way home? I couldn't sense anything wrong."

He shrugged uncomfortably, "I thought…NO, I'm sure I scented wolf-youkai, a group of them across the street from us. But I couldn't see them; I only saw a group of humans."

Kagome frowned in concentration, "Could you feel their youki? I tried, but yours was the only one I could feel." He shook his head.

"It was just scent, then? Nothing else, right?"

"Right, but Kagome, there was no mistaking the scent. It was five different wolf-youkai, not wolves, not hanyou, wolf-youkai. I'm sure of it." He frowned back at her and continued, "Naraku can hide his youki behind a barrier, and all I can sense is his scent, but this…this felt different somehow."

Kagome nodded in understanding and said thoughtfully, "It wasn't a barrier. I would have felt it, especially if it was as close as across the street. I might miss a barrier if I wasn't looking for it, but there's no way to miss the blank spot a barrier makes, if I'm actually looking for it." Tapping her lip in thought, she finally went on, "I wonder if it's possible to create a disguise spell of some sort, which would hide youki, as well as visual appearance. That could be pretty convenient for you."

Inuyasha shrugged and said, "Maybe, but what about scent? If a spell like that exists, and youkai are using it to move undetected among humans, why haven't I been able to smell them?"

"Maybe you have; didn't you think that you caught a trace of youkai scent when we went to the mall? And you scented the wolf-youkai today. Maybe the problem is that the spell **can** block scent, and the only times you pick up their scent is if they're careless or make a mistake," Kagome offered.

Inuyasha sighed and agreed, "Maybe. It would make sense. The wolf-youkai today **_were_** only pups, just a little older then you. Maybe they were careless with the spell. I just don't like it. It means that it isn't as safe here for you as I thought, and the shards could be at risk too."

Kagome drew in a sharp breath at the thought of youkai coming here to look for Shikon shards. _'Mama, Sota, Jii-chan! Nooo! This was supposed to be _**MY **_problem, not theirs! If a youkai comes here…"_ Her pulse raced as she thought about her family being at risk, and she jumped when she felt Inuyasha's hands grip hers.

Without her noticing, he had knelt down in front of her and clasped her hands in his. He'd noticed her agitation and fear, and knew what had caused it. "Kagome, the shards are safe here, nobody has come after them so far, right? You keep them here in your room while you're going to school and stuff, and I don't think they can be detected while they're inside the shrine. I know that I can't sense them from outside the shrine. And even here, right next to them, I can barely feel them." He reached up and pulled her down to his level and hugged her. "Your family is as safe as they've always been. And if something changes, we'll face it together. I'll protect your family like I protect you, Kagome." Running his hands up and down her back, he tried to comfort and soothe her fears. Slowly, she relaxed in his arms, drawing comfort from them like she always did.

After a good twenty minutes of just holding, and being held, Inuyasha heard the sounds of Sota coming in the house. "Hey," he whispered in her ear, "I think Sota is home." Loosening his grasp on her, he pulled back enough to look her in the eyes. "Are you going to be okay, now?"

Kagome smiled at him and said, "Yes, I am. Thank you. For being here. For protecting me. For caring. For everything. Thank you." She slowly pulled away and stood up. Looking down on her friend, her dearest friend, she reached down and gently rubbed his ear.

As she stood there, she heard Sota running up the stairs and she sighed. "All good things must come to an end. Inuyasha, I have a lot of studying to do before dinner, and I want to tell him another story tonight, any suggestions?"

"Why not tell him about the toad prince, that one has a lot of funny stuff in it, Nobunaga was such an idiot, wasn't he?" Inuyasha smirked at his memory of the fool falling off the cliff—twice. "I bet Sota would love hearing that one."

Kagome smiled back at him and said, "Yeah that was pretty funny. Maybe I will tell him that one. But not until after supper. I really do need to study for my tests tomorrow."

"Fine. I'm going outside for a bit," he paused as she looked up in alarm. "I'm not leaving the shrine, I just want to check around a bit, that's all."

Kagome nodded her understanding, a little ashamed at how frightened she had been at the thought of him not being nearby. Inuyasha left her room, stopping to speak to Sota for a minute before continuing on out of the house.

Inuyasha walked all the way around the shrine grounds, checking all approaches carefully for any sign of intrusion, as well as looking for any active wards or seals. During his wanderings, he noticed the old man watching him with a puzzled look on his face.

By the time he had finished his tour, he decided that even if the old man had no spiritual power to speak of, his predecessors must have. The shrine was warded, very well warded, and although the wards and seals were old, they were strong and subtle. Until he started searching for them, they had gone unnoticed. They were what were keeping the Shikon shards hidden, and he wondered if that wasn't why they had been cast in the first place. After all, the jewel had been **_inside_** Kagome when they first met, and no one had noticed until she went back in time, to a time when the wards didn't exist.

At the conclusion of his tour, he climbed to his favorite perch in the Go-Shim-Boku, and settled down to wait for dinner.

Dinner that night was subdued, the only excitement coming when Kagome told Sota that after all the dishes were done, provided **_his_** homework was complete, she would tell him his second story of the Sengoku Jidai.

Mrs. Higurashi smiled at her daughter, pleased that whatever had been bothering her; it wasn't enough to cause her to forget her promise to her little brother.

"Kagome, you've been pretty quiet tonight, is everything alright?" She asked her daughter, trying to bring her out of her introspection.

Putting a smile back on her face, Kagome said, "Everything's just fine, mama. In fact, in PE today, we had a special competition, and I won. The good thing is it means that I won't have to put in an extra hour each day for the next month." _'Not that I plan on being here for most of that time, but still…'_

"Really, what was it?" Sota asked excitedly.

"Gee, I don't know…what could it have possibly have been? I mean, it's not like I'm there enough to be good in most sports, am I?" she said, teasing Sota.

"Ka-go-me! Just tell me, okay!" he begged, starting to bounce in his seat.

Kagome started to laugh at his expression and excitement, and said, "Nope, just guess."

"Ohhh, man!" Creasing his brow in concentration, Sota tried to guess what the answer, not noticing that both his mother and Inuyasha were grinning at him. At last, he smacked his forehead, and said, "Duh! Archery, of course!"

"You got it, pipsqueak. Not that it was actually that hard. It was only about 30 paces, and non-moving targets." She explained, "The best part was that my group, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, don't have to do the extra PE, either. I did tell them that if I'm not in school, then they probably should go for the extra time, but it's up to them."

Finished with her dinner, Kagome got up and cleared her spot, and started in on the dinner dishes. As everyone else finished, they brought her the dirty dishes, and went on out of the kitchen. When Sota came in, she reminded him about his homework, and told him to come get her when his was finished.

A few minutes later, her mother came in and started helping her with the cleanup, not that there was much left to do.

Her mother spoke up, "Kagome, when did you plan on going back thru the well?"

"Hmm? Tomorrow, after dinner, if that's okay? We don't want to wait too long before teaching Shippo what he needs to know," she said, while drying the wok, before putting it away in the cupboard.

"That sounds fine, dear. Oh, by the way, thank you for remembering Sota's story, I hope it's a interesting as the last one."

Kagome laughed and said, "I don't know if it's as interesting, but it is pretty funny, so I think he'll like it." Putting away the last of the dishes, Kagome added, "Well, I think that's everything, so I'm going to find Sota and take him out to the Go-Shim-Boku for his story, okay? And you and grandpa are welcome to come along too."

Her mother smiled at her and just said, "We'll see, dear."

Fetching her brother from the living room, Kagome went outside and settled down on the ground with her back against the tree Inuyasha was lounging in.

"Alright Sota, I thought about what kind of story I should tell you, and I decided to tell you the one about the Toad Prince."

"Toad Prince? What kind of story is that? Does it have man-eating monsters in it?" He asked hopefully.

"Not exactly, the toad didn't eat bodies, he ate young girls' souls. Now this happened quite a while ago, even before we met Shippo. We had left Kaede's village and been on the road for three days when we came across a small pond that was fed from both a hot spring and a little stream, which meant that the water was delightfully warm, and…" She was interrupted by the sound of Inuyasha snorting from the branch above her head.

"Feh. You and your baths, woman."

"And what's wrong with them, eh? I like to take hot baths, so what?" Tossing her head disdainfully, Kagome went on with the story.

"Anyways, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I was taking a bath, when I saw a white blur grab my clothes from the edge of the pond. It turned out to be a little monkey had stolen my clothes and run away with them. Inuyasha and I followed and…"

"Naked!" Sota asked in amazement.

"What? Of course not, I was wearing my bathing suit, you doofus! And if you interrupt one more time, the story is over. Got it?"

"Got it. Sorry about that," he said quickly, obviously not wanting to loose his story.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome went on with the story, taking pains to play up Nobunaga's bumbling determination to rescue the princess, and soon she had Sota laughing so hard that she had to pause periodically to let him calm down and catch his breath. During one of those pauses, she saw that her mother and grandfather had joined them and were also enjoying the story.

She drew the story out to the very end, where Nobunaga fell off the same cliff, for the second time, which of course, Sota found hysterical.

When Sota had finally stopped laughing, Mrs. Higurashi sent him inside to get ready for bed, and she and Jii-chan went in as well. Kagome stayed where she was, waiting to talk to Inuyasha in private.

Finally everyone was out of earshot, and she spoke up, "Have you had any other thoughts about the possibility of youkai in the here and now, Inuyasha?"

He dropped down from his branch, and sat cross-legged next to her. "Yeah, I have, but first I want tell you what I discovered about the shrine."

"About the shrine? What did you find?" She asked him, confused by his statement.

"I walked around the outer edge of the shrine, looking for any indication that youkai might have been sneaking around, and couldn't find any signs, whatsoever. What I did find, is that this shrine is VERY heavily warded and sealed. I think."

"What? No way, I'm sure I would have noticed something like that before now!" She exclaimed loudly.

He shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not. The wards are very subtle, and designed not to be noticed. I had to look really close to spot even the edges of them." Standing up, he held out his hand to help her up, and said, "Come on, I want you to take a look at them, and tell me if I'm crazy or not."

Kagome took his hand and stood up. "Okay, let's go take a look at these wards of yours."

Inuyasha led her over to the shrine entrance and pointed at the upright posts. "Right here, feel for the seal. I think it's built into foundations or something. I can't see it, but I can sort of feel it."

Kagome closed her eyes and ran her hands up and down the surface of the post, maybe a half-inch above it. _'Okay, let's see if he's crazy or not…'_ As she concentrated, she felt a gentle heat, and began to see, almost at the edge of her vision, symbols that she didn't recognize. _'Oh my god! He's right, and I never even noticed! But, I shouldn't be surprised, it seems like it's trying to prevent people or things that are a danger to the shrine, or those who live here, from coming inside.'_ "You're right, it is warded. Very, very subtly. Even with you telling me where to look, I almost missed it." She looked at him and asked, "These wards cover the entire shrine? What about the separate buildings, are they warded as well?"

"I don't know, never looked for it, I just checked the outer edges, that's all," he said, shaking his head.

Kagome nodded, and said, "Let's check out the house and other buildings and see if they're warded as well. Starting with the house." Kagome led the way back to her house, and began carefully checking for any wards there. "Yeah…they're here, too." Looking up at him, she went on, "The Well next, and then the main shrine. Although, I think that all the buildings will be warded this way, too."

"Uh huh." Inuyasha followed her as she checked each of the buildings on the shrine grounds, still thinking about **_who_** and **_why_** had put the wards around the shrine. "Hey, Kagome, can you tell how old these wards are?" he asked.

"Not really. I think, no, not think, **_I feel_** that they are at least older than me. Why? Does it matter how old they are," she asked, puzzled at his question.

Shrugging, he said, "I guess not, I was just curious about them."

After checking all of the buildings, and the perimeter of the shrine grounds, Kagome decided that Inuyasha was right, the shards had been, and probably would continue to be safe, as long as they stayed on the shrine grounds. And if she had understood how the wards were set up, anyone was free to enter the shrine ground, as long as they meant no harm; **_but if they did!_** they were toast. Either they couldn't enter the grounds at all, or if they did, they would either leave immediately or die. She was pretty sure it worked with humans as well as youkai, too.

"Well," she said finally, "I think you're right, the shrine's warded, and well warded, too." She shook her head and said, "I never even thought to check for wards, even after I knew what to look for, I always assumed…"

Inuyasha smirked at her and said, "Keh, never assume, especially about magic. Hasn't Kaede-baba taught you anything?"

"Hey! You never thought to check before tonight, did you?" She shot back at him, annoyed at his assumption of superiority.

"Nope. Course, _I _didn't live here for 15 years, did I?" He said as he led the way back to the house.

"GRRRR!"

Turning his head, Inuyasha smiled over his shoulder at Kagome's expression as she realized that she had growled in a **_very_** Inuyasha way, at his teasing remark. Deciding not to push her any more at the moment, he just turned back and kept walking towards the house.

Entering the house, Kagome told her mother that she had some more studying to do, and then she asked Inuyasha if he would be okay on his own for a while. Inuyasha started to speak, but Sota interrupted.

"That's okay, I can show him how to play my new game on PS2! I don't have to go to bed for almost another hour, so would you like to come up to my room for a while? Please?" Sota asked excitedly, bouncing on his toes.

Inuyasha looked surprised for a moment, then looked back and forth between Kagome and Mrs. Higurashi, both of whom returned his questioning looks with identical bland looks of their own. Getting no help from the two women, he finally looked at Sota and said, "Keh."

"Cool!" Sota jumped up and ran up the stairs, calling for Inuyasha to join him in his room. Inuyasha just shrugged at Kagome, and followed the excited boy up stairs.

Kagome watched him go up out of sight; a pensive look on her face, until she realized her mother was still standing there, watching her, as she watched Inuyasha. She quickly smiled, and said, "Well, back to the books. I'll see you later, mama."

While Kagome struggled with trying to master a vast amount of information on insects, followed by trinomials and quadratic equations; Inuyasha was learning how to use the PlayStation controller without breaking it, and playing Doom II in deathmatch mode.

Eventually, Sota was sent to bed and Inuyasha wandered into Kagome's room and settled down on her bed to watch her study for her tests the next day.

Finally, at about 1:00 in the morning, Kagome closed her books, stretched, and turned to look at Inuyasha, who had finally dozed off while watching her. She smiled gently at him, and went to her dresser, got her pajamas and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When she returned to her room, about ten minutes later, she had to decide how she was going to get him out of her bed, and into his own. She sat down on the edge of the bed and softly called his name. "Inuyasha? Hey, time to wakeup, sleepy head." She smiled at him, as he turned his head and started to snore, very, very softly. Tentatively, she reached her hand out and began to gently rub his ears, something she always wanted to do, but never really had the nerve to do. As she rubbed his ear, then using both hands, both of his ears, she heard a soft rumbling noise. _'Is…is he purring? He is, just like a cat! He likes this, I wish I'd known this before, but he never lets anyone get close to him.'_ Smiling down at the sleeping hanyou, she continued to gently rub his ears, listening to the rumbling purr that came from his chest. _'I should stop this, and wake him up…but…he looks so relaxed and peaceful, and he never seems to relax like this when we're back there, looking for shards.'_

Finally, she sighed, and pulled her hands away from his ears. Standing up, she gently pulled the comforter up from the bottom of her bed and laid it over the top of the sleeping hanyou. Then she went to her closet and took out an extra pillow and a blanket off the shelf, and lay down on the floor next to her bed, rolled up in the blanket and closed her eyes. Relaxing, she thought to herself, _'This isn't any worse than most of the places I sleep, better really…no bugs.'_ Smiling to herself, she fell asleep, still thinking about the boy who was sleeping in her bed.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Chapter 13 

The next morning, Mrs. Higurashi, not hearing Kagome's alarm clock go off, opened the door to her room, but before she could say a word, she stopped.

'_What in the world! Why is Inuyasha in Kagome's bed! I can't believe…'_ stunned at what she saw, or thought she saw, she started to get angry, and then she realized that Kagome wasn't in her bed with Inuyasha, that she was on the floor, wrapped up in the blanket she used during the winter. _'Why is SHE on the floor, and HE is in her bed!'_ Shaking her head to clear the confusing thoughts away, she quietly stepped in and shook Kagome awake.

"Wha…? What time is it" Kagome asked sleepily. Looking up at her mother bending over her, she asked, "Is something wrong, mama?"

"No, dear. It's just time to get up for school, and you didn't set your alarm." Pressing a finger to her lips, she added, "Try to be quiet. Inuyasha is still asleep." With that, she turned and left the room, leaving the door open behind her.

Kagome watched her mother leave, trying to completely wake up. _'Inuyasha's asleep? What's she talking about?"_ Gasping, she remembered the night before. _'Eeek! Mama just found Inuyasha in my bed! She's gonna kill me!'_

Scrambling to her feet, Kagome looked around her room wildly, before she got a grip on herself, took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and said softly, "I can do this. Clothes first, everything else later." Grabbing a clean school uniform and fresh underclothes, she went into the bathroom to change and get ready for her day. When she returned, Inuyasha had rolled onto his back, but was still asleep. She shook her head and smiled down at him, before putting away her pajamas and hair things and heading down for breakfast.

Walking into the kitchen, Kagome saw that she was the first one down, besides her mother, so she started making some orange juice for their breakfast.

Kagome jumped, just a little, when her mother spoke up. "Would you like to talk about it, dear?" she asked gently.

Kagome blushed, but said "Inuyasha kept me company after Sota went to bed, and…well, when I finished, at about one in the morning, he had fallen asleep on my bed." She stopped; remembering how he had looked last night, then went on. "He looked so relaxed and at peace, that I couldn't bear to wake him up. So…I just grabbed a pillow and my blanket, and went to sleep on the floor."

"Wasn't that a bit uncomfortable, dear?" her mother asked, as she sliced muffins to be toasted.

"Uncomfortable? The floor, you mean? Not really; it's carpeted and warm, besides," Kagome grinned at her mother, "at least there weren't any bugs."

Her mother smiled at her daughter quizzically, trying to understand why her daughter thought sleeping on the floor, so her friend could sleep undisturbed in her bed, when he had a perfectly fine bed in the next room, was a **_reasonable, _**even **_rational_** decision. "Does he normally have problems sleeping at night?"

"Not really, it's more like, he doesn't really relax when he's sleeping. He always seems to be at least half way awake. Unless he's badly injured or exhausted, he's normally the last to fall asleep and the first to wake up. And even then, he usually wakes up as soon as someone makes a noise or starts moving around." She explained, pouring her mother and herself glasses of juice.

"Interesting. And last night, he fell asleep while you were still awake?"

"Uh huh. That's why I didn't want to wake him. I've never seen him like that before, and I wanted him to enjoy it. I'll wake him before I go to school, if he doesn't wake himself before than."

Mrs. Higurashi nodded her understanding, and said, "I see. Well, I'm going to wake up Sota, so could you finish the eggs and muffins?"

Kagome nodded, "Sure, mama. I'll start serving as soon as the eggs are done, okay?"

"Yes, dear. That would be fine," she said as she took off her apron and headed up stairs to wake her son.

As Kagome was serving up the scrambled eggs, bacon and muffins, Inuyasha walked in, and sat down at the table.

"Good morning, Inuyasha. How are you this morning?" She asked as she put a plate of food in front of him.

"Huh. Fine." Looking down at the food in front of him, he sniffed at it carefully, then said, "This looks good, what is it?" Picking up his fork, he carefully took a small bite. Nodding happily, he took a larger bite, and tried the orange juice she handed him.

Kagome smiled, and turned back to serving up the rest of breakfast as Jii-chan, Sota, and her mother all sat down to eat. Seeing how fast Inuyasha was eating, and well aware of his appetite, Kagome prepared an extra plate, and, just as he was finishing the last bite of muffin, she removed his empty plate, and put a full one down in its place. At last, she brought her own plate over to the table and sat down to eat her own breakfast.

Kagome ignored the odd looks she got from her grandfather and brother, and concentrated on eating her breakfast as quickly as good manners would allow.

Finally, her brother asked, "Hey, Kagome, what's the rush? You don't have to leave for school for half an hour."

Pausing, her fork in mid-air, Kagome replied, "I know, I just want to go over some Biology stuff before I go to school. I have a test on it, first thing this morning, sooo…" with that, Kagome went back to the serious business of finishing her breakfast.

After breakfast was over, Kagome started to help her mother with the dishes, but she was waved away, and Sota was drafted to help instead.

Collecting her book bag, Kagome dashed off while Inuyasha was changing into modern clothes.

"Damn it! What's her hurry? It's not like the school's gonna walk away or anything." He grumbled when he realized that she had already left the house. Heading out at a fast lope, he skidded to a stop when he saw that she had only gone as far as the top of the shrine steps, and was sitting down, her book open in her lap, studying again. Shaking his head at her intensity, he sat down next to her and waited for her to finish.

After about twenty minutes of her reading and mumbling to herself, Inuyasha scented her friend, Eri? approaching, and spoke up, "Oi. Kagome, your friend's here. Let's go."

"Hmm? Eri's here already?" She stuffed her book into her book bag, put it over her shoulders, and stood up. Together, she and Inuyasha walked down the steps, and waited for Eri to meet them.

"Hi Kagome. Did you sleep good last night?" She asked cheerfully.

Blushing lightly, Kagome replied, "Yes, I slept fine. How about you?"

"Fine." _'I wonder why she blushed when I asked how she slept? Could she and Inuyasha…NO WAY! Down girl! I don't think she's even kissed him yet.'_ Looking at her friend and the boy walking next to her carefully, she thought _'No, I don't think it's anything like that, but…maybe someday?'_ Changing the subject, she thanked Kagome for saving them yesterday during PE, which only made Kagome blush even more. When they were joined by Yuka and Ayumi, the conversation shifted to schoolwork in general, and insects in particular, as they all quizzed each other to prepare for the Biology test. At last they reached the school, and the girls turned to head in.

Kagome paused for a moment with Inuyasha, and asked, "Will you be here, when school lets out this afternoon?" As she spoke, just a hint of unease crept into her voice, enough for Inuyasha to notice, though not enough for the girls to be aware of.

"Oi, you know I will, wench. Stop worrying about it, okay?" As he spoke, he stepped closer and gave her a quick hug. "Worry about those stupid tests, if you want to, but leave the rest of it to me, 'kay?"

Smiling up at him, she said, "'kay," and walked in to the school with her friends.

As they headed up to their first period class, Biology, Eri held Kagome back for a moment, and asked, "Is everything alright, Kagome? You seem worried about something? Is there anything I can do?"

Surprised, Kagome shook her head and said, "No, really everything's fine, really."

"Are you sure, Kagome? You looked, well, spooked, just when we got to school. I can…"

Kagome interrupted her and said, "Don't worry about me, okay. It's, well I think someone has been following me, and, and, well, it did kind of spook me, but Inuyasha's here and it'll be okay."

Eri looked at her, really worried now, "Inuyasha? I know you like him, Kagome, but if you're being followed and someone's watching you, well, he's just a kid, like us. Shouldn't you talk to the police or something?"

Kagome smiled at her friend and gave her a quick hug, "Don't worry. Inuyasha is a good friend, and if, **_if_**, I'm in danger, he'll protect me." As she turned away, she said softly, almost too soft for Eri to hear, "He always protects me."

Considering she had three tests to face, as well as all the new material being covered, Kagome thought that the day had gone surprisingly well. After the Biology test, her teacher gave her another extra credit assignment, as well as a large stack of printed out articles for her next topic: Compare and Contrast Canine and Human Social Structures, and Status Ranking in Both.

As the school day came to an end, Kagome and her friends walked down the stairs and headed for the entrance. Like the day before, Inuyasha was lounging against the gate, watching Kagome cross the schoolyard. The only difference this time, was that a large group of girls had gathered in a circle around Inuyasha, and they were trying to talk to him.

"Grrrr." Surprised, Kagome's friends looked over at her and saw that her face was red and rigid with anger. Looking back and forth between Kagome and the waiting boy, surrounded by a bunch of girls, her friends started to giggle, as they realized that, although Kagome had called him jealous and possessive, she seemed to be just as guilty as him.

Slipping through the girls, she walked up to Inuyasha, ready to 'sit' him to oblivion as soon as she got him alone, but the look on his face, and the relief in his voice, when he said, "Oi, Kagome, it's about time!" caused her anger to fade, and she just grabbed his hand, twined her fingers with his, and said, "I'm here, let's go now, okay?"

Together, they slid through the crowd of obviously disappointed girls and rejoined Kagome's friends and headed away from the school. As they walked down the street, Yuka asked, "So, Inuyasha, what did those girls want to talk about?"

"Feh."

"I bet they wanted to know if he was available," Ayumi suggested.

"Or, what his phone number is," Yuka offered.

"Grrrr," was his response to the girl's teasing. Worried that he might tell them off, Kagome shook her head at her friends, and squeezed his hand even tighter.

Hoping to change the subject to something more relaxed, she asked, "Inuyasha, would you mind if we went back to the sporting good store? You know, from Sunday? I wanted to pick up a couple of things today."

He looked down at her in surprise, but nodded and said, "Keh."

"Thank you." With his agreement, she relaxed and moved closer to him, enjoying the touch of his hand, and the mingling of their auras.

"Sporting goods store? What do you need from there, Kagome?" Ayumi asked curiously.

"Oh, just a little something to make things easier. At least, I hope they have something like that, other wise I'll have to ask Sango for her help, later." She added the last for Inuyasha's benefit.

When they reached the cross street that the store was located on, Kagome told her friends that she and Inuyasha had to turn here. To her surprise, all of her friends said that they wanted to come along, if that was all right with her. Surprised, but not upset, Kagome agreed.

"Sure, I doubt it'll take more than a few minutes," she said as she turned down the street.

When they entered the store, she said, "I need to talk to one of the clerks in private, so…shoo!" she said, waving her hands at Inuyasha and her friends, "Go browse or something."

Walking up to the same clerk who had helped them on Sunday, Kagome asked, "Sir, I need some help, if you don't mind."

Bowing, he said "Of course, how can I help you, today."

"My friend gave me one of the knives as a gift, and I need a way of carrying it discreetly, yet still available when I need it. Perhaps a harness of some sort?"

He nodded, "Yes, we have several different options. Let's go over to the display case and I will be happy to help you."

After she pointed out which knife she had, he opened the cabinet underneath the display case and removed three boxes, and carried them back to the check out counter. He explained the different ways of carrying the knife, both concealed and openly, and what the different advantages were. Kagome quickly choose the one that allowed her to carry the knife behind her back or at her waist equally well, and said, "I'll take this one please."

"Certainly." As he rang up her purchase, she placed the box in her book bag, and paid him with money from the ATM. Putting her change away, she put her book bag back on and went back to find Inuyasha and her friends. Stepping up behind Inuyasha, where he was looking at a display of miniature tents with a very confused look on his face, she slipped her arm around his waist and said, "Thank you for bringing me here, Inuyasha."

As she put her arm around him, he started and then slowly, tentatively put his arm around her shoulders.

"So, what are you finding so fascinating about this display?"

"Keh. Why are they so small, not even Shippo could fit inside one of these things," he asked quietly.

Kagome hid her smile and said, "These are models, very small representations of much larger tents. It's a way for customers to see what the tent will look like, a much better way than with just pictures, and yet it doesn't take up very much room."

He nodded his understanding, and then asked, "If I understand what it's saying, we could use one of these and be pretty much out of the weather, right?" She nodded. "So, why didn't you bring one before, and, and would you like to have one now?" As he asked her this, his voice dropped, and he blushed very faintly.

Uncertain about why he was asking her this now, she decided to answer as fully as she could. "Well, in the beginning, the weather was always pretty nice, so my sleeping bag was enough, and tents can be pretty heavy. Besides, I really never thought about it. Later, when I did think of it, I decided that it would be a bad idea, for a lot of reasons."

Looking back down at the display, he said, "So, if you were to get one now, which one would you want?"

She bit her lip, and then said, "It would sort of depend on how many of us were going to use it." She pointed at one of the smallest models. "This one is intended for two adults, with maybe one small child. This one on the other hand, is intended for a large family. It is divided up inside into three rooms, and could hold all of us quite easily," she grinned up at him and went on, "and Miroku could be kept well away from Sango and me."

Inuyasha snorted his agreement with that, and then went on. "So, what are your other reasons?"

She looked back at him and said, "Cost is a big one. They're not cheap, and, well, I felt that a tent would just be a luxury that I couldn't afford." She stopped, not sure if she should go on, then said. "Another reason, is that, as time went on, I became much more aware of how dangerous things were, what with Naraku and everything. It just didn't seem like a good idea to keep ourselves confined within a tent, where danger might sneak up on us unobserved," she shrugged again, "It just didn't seem like it was worth it."

Inuyasha looked at her and nodded as she listed her reasons. "Makes sense, but I think there's something else, too. Why didn't you get one of the small ones when we first started out? It was just the two of us, and you know I always sleep outside, or in a tree." He pointed at the price listed for the smallest one, "That's about as much as one of the sleeping bags or less than the trip for medical supplies. So…why not?" As she tried desperately to think of a reason that he would accept, he spoke again, quietly, "The truth, Kagome, I want to know the truth."

She bit her lip, and looked down at the floor. In a soft voice she said, "Because, I wanted…I didn't want you to…" Her voice trailed off, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Kagome, why?" He asked again, still quietly, but firmly.

Taking a deep breath, her eyes still shut, trying to hold back her tears, she said in a shaky whisper, "I, I just, oh god, I feel so stupid…I just didn't want you to, to think I was any weaker, and…and helpless, than you already did…" as she spoke, her voice got softer and the tears she had been fighting back, trickled down her cheeks.

Shocked at her words, Inuyasha bit back his first impulse, to say 'don't be stupid, wench!' even he could tell that that would be the wrong thing to tell her right now. Instead, he pulled her right up to his chest, wrapped both his arms around her and said, "I'm sorry, Kagome, I'm such an idiot." Sighing, he said to her, "Back then, when we first met, I would have said something like that, wouldn't I?" As he held her, he realized that her friends were standing in a group, about ten feet away, looking at him as if Kagome's crying was all his fault, which it was of course, and that he'd better fix it, **_right now!_** Or there were going to be bloody hanyou parts all over the store! He snorted to himself, _'That's all I need, Kagome's friends trying to kill me, because I made her cry.'_

Looking around, he saw a bench nearby, so he carried Kagome over to it, sat down with her in his lap, and said, "Please don't cry, Kagome, you know I hate it when you cry." As he spoke to her, he rocked her in his arms and stroked her hair. "I'm sorry I was such an asshole to you, I swear I'm trying to do better." As he held her, she wiped her cheeks and tried to get her tears under control. "You're not weak, Kagome, and you're not helpless. You haven't been either for a long time, you know. Heh, even when you couldn't shoot to save your life, you still tried. I swear, sometimes you're too brave for your own good, and you never give up. I'm sorry that I made you feel that way." He heard her friends coming closer, so he opened his eyes and glared at them until they stopped.

"Hey, I think your friends are about ready to slit my throat here, so how about I wipe your tears," he did so, very gently, "you smile at me, even if you don't mean it," she started to smile, just a little, "and I help you stand up, so we can leave here, and go home?" She nodded, her eyes still closed, so he stood up with her, slowly let her down, until she was standing on her own, with his hands holding her waist. When she opened her eyes, he was looking at her very solemnly, and he said, "I'm here, Kagome. You're not alone and I don't think you're weak or helpless."

For a moment, they stood there, gazes locked, then they both began to smile at each other, then Kagome wrapped her arms around him again, and squeezed him tightly. "I'm okay, now. Thank you, for being here for me." Unwillingly, she loosened her grip and turned to face her friends, still watching the two of them intently. She smiled at them, and when they questioned her with their eyes, she just shrugged and shook her head.

Still holding onto her waist, Inuyasha asked, "Are you ready to go now, or do you still need something from here?"

"I think that I've got everything I need from here, at least for now," she said.

"What about that blue sleeping bag you looked at before, the one of Shippo. Do you want to buy it now, or later?"

Thinking seriously, she decided, "Later. We need to get back to the shrine, and then do some grocery shopping. I already paid for what I really wanted to get."

He just nodded and released his grasp on her as she started to walk towards her friends.

Smiling sheepishly, Kagome said, "Sorry about," as she reached her friends.

Eri was the first to speak, "Are you alright, Kagome?" Looking at her friend closely, she was relieved to see that, whatever had caused her upset, it was clearly under control.

"Yeah, I am. But, it's getting later than I thought and we'd better head home, okay?"

Nodding in agreement, the girls headed for the door, with Inuyasha following close behind.

Retracing their steps, they soon reached the point where Yuka and Ayumi turned off, and Eri, Kagome and Inuyasha continued towards the shrine. Once the two girls had left, Inuyasha moved up next to Kagome, and she smiled up at him as she clasped his hand.

When they reached the shrine steps, Eri waved and said "Bye, see you tomorrow."

Kagome waved back at her, but bit her lip as Eri walked away. She started as Inuyasha hugged her from behind, and asked, "You okay, Kagome?"

"Yeah. Just a little sad, because I'm leaving, and I can't tell them. I'll be okay." Taking a deep breath, she went on, "Let's drop this stuff in my room, and then go get some groceries, okay?"

Inuyasha nodded, and steered her up the shrine steps, and into her house.

Fifteen minutes later, Kagome had changed her clothes, grabbed her purse, and was waiting at the door for Inuyasha to join her. When he had, the two headed back out to buy some groceries before using the well.

As they walked to the store, Inuyasha remembered to tell her about his trip to pick up Ramen and energy bars on Sunday.

She looked at him in amazement, "You went to the store, and bought food! By yourself! I had no idea that you knew how to use modern money?"

"Feh. What, you think I wasn't paying attention when you were spending all of our money at that mall place?" He asked indignantly.

"No, to be honest, I didn't think about it. I just assumed that you wouldn't be interested or would find it boring. So, what did you buy…oh, wait, let me guess: Ramen?" She said, starting to grin at him.

"Feh. I didn't just buy Ramen, wench. I got those granola bars, and some of the other stuff you bring with you." He shrugged uncomfortably, as Kagome continued to grin at him.

"Well, I guess you can show me what you picked out when we get there, and I'll buy accordingly." She paused to open the door to the grocery store, and went in with Inuyasha, taking a shopping cart as she went by.

"So, how much Ramen did you buy, anyways?" Kagome asked as she stopped in front of the large selection of packaged noodles.

Inuyasha shrugged, and said, "A couple of dozen boxes, I don't remember. I also picked up some of those, "he said, pointing to the granola bars.

Kagome snickered as she started adding some different packages to the cart, "If you see anything else you bought, just point it out and tell me how much you bought." The two of them roamed up and down the aisles adding things to the cart as they traded jokes about everyone's food likes and dislikes. Kagome made a point of picking up some lemonade mix and a variety of spices to use, since she had started actually cooking more lately.

After paying for the groceries, the teens carried the bags back to the shrine, with Inuyasha carrying the majority of the bags. Sota met them at the top of the shrine steps and stared at all the food they were carrying, and said "Wow! How long are you planning on staying this time! You must have enough food to last for months, sis!"

Kagome laughed and said, "Not really, with at least 5 of us eating, it goes pretty quick. Besides, I plan on leaving a lot of this of this stuff at Kaede's, so we can restock on the run if we need to."

Leaving Sota practicing with his soccer ball, they took the groceries up to Inuyasha's room, where he started repacking everything that they had bought along with his earlier purchases.

Kagome went to find her mother, hoping to talk to her some more before dinner. As her mother was already cooking dinner, Kagome started setting the table, searching for a way to tell her that she might be gone longer than usual this time. Finally, she just said, "Mama, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Yes, dear? What is it?" she asked calmly, as she started cooking the teriyaki steaks.

"Umm, I'm not sure, well, I have a feeling that this time, it might be a long time before I get back." Kagome said uncertainly.

"Really?" Her mother turned and looked at her quizzically, "Why do you say that?"

"Umm, I'm not sure really, it's just a feeling. I can't say exactly why or any thing, it's just, well, I have a feeling that something's going to happen," she shrugged uncomfortably.

Her mother looked at her in silence for a minute, and then asked, "Do you **_feel_** that something bad is going to happen? Are you or any of your friends going to be hurt?"

Kagome shook her head and said, "No, not really. It just feels like it's going to be a while before I come back. I don't have any idea why."

Her mother nodded thoughtfully, and turned back to her cooking while saying, "Well dear, if you're going to be a while, you should be sure to pack accordingly. Perhaps you can keep some of your things with your miko friend, Kaede? If you don't mind, I'll give you a hand with packing right after dinner, alright dear?"

"Umm, sure mama, that would be great," Kagome said, thinking _'Mama takes everything in her stride; I wish I could be so calm when things start getting crazy. I hope it's something genetic, 'cause maybe then I'll learn how to do it.'_ She sighed softly to herself as she finished setting the table.

"Mama, I'm going to get washed up for dinner, alright? I'll do my packing after dinner, okay?" As she spoke, she started up the stairs for her room.

Twenty minutes later, everyone sat down to eat a fairly subdued dinner; the knowledge that Kagome and Inuyasha would be leaving in a short while to go through the well. Even Sota was quieter than normal.

At last dinner was over, and Kagome excused herself to start packing, while Sota was drafted into helping with the dishes again, much to Kagome's amusement. In her room, she quickly packed her backpack with all the usual items, plus the books she had bought. Deciding to leave all the food separate, she had plenty of room for more clothes. Looking in her drawers, she dropped in a couple of extra sets of underclothes, most of her socks, and a few extra pairs of jeans and blouses. As she looked in her closet, she found a light blue kimono that she had been given as a gift, and not really sure why, she folded it up neatly, packed it into a pillow case with all the accessories, and buried it in her pack.

As she stood there, trying to think what else to pack, her mother cleared her throat and said, "It looks like your doing pretty good, so far. Have you packed your toiletries yet?"

"No, mama. They're still in the bathroom…" she said, when her mother cut her off with a smile.

"That's fine, dear. I'll get your things, and throw in a few extra's that might be useful," she said as she turned and headed to the bathroom.

Opening Kagome's bath bag, she shook her head, smiling sadly all the while. _'I swear that girl lives for her hot baths and washing her hair. I think I'll have to use a bigger bag, and add some items that she seems to be forgetting about.'_ Under the sink, she found a larger, zippered bag. Pulling it out, she frowned at the memories her husbands travel bag brought back. _'It's been more than three years, but I still miss him so…Enough! I need to concentrate on Kagome's needs right now.'_ Transferring all of Kagome's things only took a moment, and she added some extra unopened soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste from the closet, as well as a box of maxi-pads. Pausing a moment, she looked at the door, beyond which was her daughter preparing to travel back to the Sengoku Jidai. Finally, she nodded to herself, picked up the bag and walked into her bedroom. Five minutes later, she had finished packing the bag and was returning to Kagome's room.

Opening the door, she saw that Kagome was already gone, and her bag was gone as well. When she looked in the open door to the guest room, she saw Kagome and Inuyasha busily packing bags of groceries into two large duffle bags. Laughing silently, she went down to the kitchen, where she found Kagome's bag waiting on the table. Opening it up, she placed the bag inside, imagining the look on Kagome's face when she found the 'surprise' waiting inside.

By 7:00 they had succeeded in packing everything and placing it in the well house. Kagome went back to her room to change her clothes prior to going through the well. Closing the door to her room, she removed her clothes and tossed them on the bed. Opening her closet, she picked out a comfortable pullover top with short sleeves and a denim skirt that was a little bit longer than her school skirt, but considerably tougher.

Putting on the skirt first, she opened the box containing the knife harness she had bought earlier. After reading the instructions, she attached the knife sheath to the harness, and wriggled around until she had the harness and knife comfortably resting, hilt down and pointing to the right, across the middle of her back. After practicing drawing and re-sheathing the knife several times, she felt at least reasonably comfortable with wearing it, so she pulled her top on and posing in front of the mirror, she tried to see if it was noticeable or visible when she turned or bent over. _'It's not perfect, but I think it'll do. At least now I can wear Inuyasha's gift without feeling like an idiot.'_ Nodding to her reflection, she put the box and instructions in the trash, and without even thinking about it, chose the bow she had been given two days ago, strung it quickly, and hung the large quiver full of arrows over her shoulder. Picking up the carrying case, she filled it with the rest of the arrows Inuyasha had bought, closed it, and walked out of her room and down to the kitchen, where Inuyasha was waiting.

"I'm ready," she said as he stood waiting for her by the door.

"Keh, about time," he said, his eyes opening as he took in the clothes she was wearing. His mouth opened, as if he was going to say something, but he closed it again with out saying a word. Opening the door, he led the way towards the Bone Eater's Well. As she stepped out of the house, Kagome was stopped by her mother, who gave her a big hug, stepped back and said, "Have fun, you two," before she turned and walked back in to the house.

Kagome watched her mother enter the house before she turned back to follow Inuyasha, who was probably getting irritated at the delay. To her surprise, when she turned around, he was standing right behind her. As far as she could tell, he had been there the whole time, waiting patiently for her to say goodbye to her mother.

Smiling at him, she said, "Now I'm really ready."

He just snorted a little laugh, and turned back to the well house. Once inside, he closed the door behind them and went over to where Kagome was already putting the large yellow pack on her shoulders, having removed the quiver and bow, so she could adjust them to handle all three things at once. As she settled everything to her satisfaction, he slung the bow case over his shoulder, picked up both duffle bags in one hand and held out his other to her.

Taking his hand in her smaller hand, Kagome stepped up to the edge of the well with his help, and jumped in with Inuyasha right beside her. As they fell, the violet, magic light flared up, carrying them 500 years into the past.

Author's Note: My thanks to **_palikani _** and **_wolf of raven_** for the kind words and here is the next chapter. **_Sirei:_** The Noh-Mask story is quite different depending on whether you read the manga or saw the anime. I read the manga a long time before I saw the anime and it works like this: The Noh-Mask was being brought to the shrine to be exorcised, but the woman bringing it was possessed before she ever entered the shrine (the mask was desperate to avoid the wards at this point). When she returned later that night she was standing in the road (outside the wards) and only a small part entered the shrine. That part was shielded by the aura of the Shikon shard and was able to pass through the wards. The creature was driven away when a passing car hit it. When the Noh-Mask returned the next night it had gained enough power by devouring the bodies and souls of the **evil** people to protect itself while trying to steal the other shards. After that, both the manga and anime are pretty much the same.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Author's Note:

Chapter 14 

Landing softly at the bottom of the well, Inuyasha wrapped his arm around Kagome and asked "Ready?" At her nod, he leapt to the top of the well and set her down softly in the grass outside the well.

As he released her, Kagome took in a deep breath, enjoying the clean, fresh air, then let it out slowly, calming her mind like Miroku had taught her, then reaching out with the inner senses that Kaede had honed to sense any nearby youkai. First, of course, she felt Inuyasha right next to her, then, as she pushed farther out, she felt Myoga, Kirara, and Shippo, all near where she felt the village was, although it seemed as though Shippo was coming this way.

"Shippo's coming to the well, Inuyasha," Kagome told him, as he sniffed at the evening air, searching for danger or anything else nearby.

Looking at her oddly, he then nodded, and asked, "You can sense him, than? Like you told me before? How do you want to handle him when he gets here?"

She looked at Inuyasha very seriously, and said, "We'll see what he does first, if he behaves himself, we shouldn't do anything special. But, if he is disrespectful to you or even rude, I think that you should just frown and growl once, then let me handle actually disciplining him, since I'm normally the one who coddles him, okay?"

Inuyasha nodded slowly, saying, "Alright, but he's usually so happy to see you, it may actually be a while before he acts up."

Kagome smiled at him, pleased that he was thinking about Shippo's past behavior as it might apply to their efforts to bring him under control. "Should we wait for him, or start walking back to the village?"

"Let's start back, and let him meet us on the way," Inuyasha said, picking the duffle bags back up in his hand, and started off.

Stepping up next to Inuyasha, Kagome held her hand out to him and waited for him to take it. He looked at her hand, then up to her face, before he smiled shyly at her, and took her hand in his and clasped it firmly as they walked up the path that led to Kaede's village.

As they walked, Kagome hummed softly to herself, enjoying the twilight, and the presence of Inuyasha next to her, and waited for Shippo to find them.

A couple of minutes later, Shippo did catch up with them. "KAAGOOOMEE! You're back! Did you miss me? Wait till I tell you what I've been doing! You'll never guess!" Leaping up to her, Kagome caught him with her free arm, and smiled as he chattered non-stop.

When he finally paused to catch his breath, Kagome said, "Yes, Shippo, _we're_ back, safe and sound. I'll let you tell me all about what you've been up to later, for now let's head for Kaede's, shall we?"

"Okay!" Turning to look at the hanyou walking next to Kagome, he looked at him very seriously and said, "So, did you help her like you were supposed to? Or did you go and make her mad?"

Inuyasha frowned in irritation and started to snap out an angry reply, but stopped when Kagome squeezed his hand. To Shippo's surprise, Kagome answered him.

"Shippo! That was rude, and uncalled for. If you want to know something, apologize and ask again, politely," Kagome gave the little kit a stern look, as she rebuked him in a calm, but firm tone of voice.

Shippo's mouth fell open in shock, but he quickly recovered. "I'm sorry, Kagome. I just…"

Kagome interrupted him, "No, Shippo, I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." As she spoke, she stared at him meaningfully.

Shippo looked at her, unsure what she meant, until she flicked her gaze towards the hanyou walking next to them. He looked over at Inuyasha, who was looking straight ahead, his jaw clenched. Looking back at Kagome, he saw that she was entirely serious about the apology. Taking a deep breath, the little kitsune said, "Umm, Inuyasha? I'm sorry I was so rude. Uhh…Were you able to help Kagome while she was with her family?" Unlike his normal brash, cheerful voice, this time he spoke quietly, almost hesitantly.

Inuyasha just huffed, "Keh," and turned to look directly into Shippo's eyes. After a moment, he nodded and said, "Yeah, I think so. We took care of some stuff that could only be done in her time."

Kagome's smile just got wider and she squeezed his hand as he spoke to Shippo. A moment later, they broke out of the trees to see the village waiting before them.

As they walked up the street to Kaede's hut, Kagome smiled and returned the villager's friendly greetings. More than a few of them took a second, longer look, as they realized that the strange miko, the one who was the guardian of the Shikon no Tama, was _holding hands_ with the hanyou, Inuyasha, and carrying the little kitsune as if he was her own child!

Reaching Kaede's hut, Inuyasha released Kagome's hand and swept the woven curtain aside, so that Kagome could enter first. Dropping the curtain as he entered, Inuyasha took up a position behind Kagome, with his back to the wall, and dropped all the bags to the floor next to him.

Kagome shrugged off her burdens as Shippo leapt from her arms and curled up on top of Kagome's futon, then she gracefully knelt down next to where Kaede was grinding some herbs together in a large stone mortar.

"Hi," she said to everyone. "Did everything go okay while we were gone?"

Miroku smiled serenely, and said, "It's good to see you again, Lady Kagome. We've had an interesting few days, working with young Shippo; he's progressing quite nicely with his magic." He looked around the room, but not seeing who he was looking for, he went on, "Myoga asked us to help with teaching Shippo to use his magic, and he should probably fill you in on that."

Kagome nodded, "Thank you, I'll ask him when he gets back."

She turned her gaze on Inuyasha, and quirked an eyebrow at him. He looked calmly back at her for a moment, then nodded and moved up to sit cross-legged right next to her. She smiled at him, then said, "Shippo, could you come and sit with me, please."

He looked up in surprise and scrambled into her lap, and curled up comfortably, looking around at the other people in the room. Sango set aside the armor she was working on, and moved further into the room, careful to keep Kirara between the monk and herself. As everyone settled in comfortably, Inuyasha cleared his throat and looked around the room, just a little nervously.

"Something happened while we were in Kagome's time, and, well, it affects all of us. I, uhh, wanted to talk to you about it, and now is probably a good time."

Miroku smirked and said, "Surely you and Lady Kagome haven't…" but he stopped when Sango smacked him across the back of the head.

Inuyasha took another slow, deep breath to control his temper, and said, "Kagome and I, we were talking about picking up some stuff in her time, you know, to bring back here, and it made me start thinking about…about, well, some things I'd never really thought about. Like responsibilities and obligations, and…" He paused, not quite sure how to go on.

Miroku asked, puzzled "Responsibilities? Obligations? I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at. We understand that getting the Shikon shards together, and defeating Naraku, are the responsibility of all of us, but you're talking about something else, aren't you?"

Inuyasha nodded slowly, "Yes. You have to understand, I didn't do it on purpose, I never even thought about it, it was my instincts. I'm a hanyou, only a half-demon, but I still have the same instincts of a full inu-youkai, and…" he paused again, not sure how to say what needed to be said.

Kagome smiled encouragingly at him, and lay her hand on shoulder and squeezed gently.

Sango had been frowning in concentration as he talked, and finally she spoke up. "Inuyasha, I think I know what you're trying to say, but that's just impossible." She paused, looking at him obviously confused, "Isn't it? I mean youkai and humans can't…"

Inuyasha nodded at her, "It's not supposed to possible for even two different types of youkai, but…it happened. It's real, and now that we, Kagome and I, are aware of it, things have started to change."

Miroku broke in, "I'm pleased that at least Lady Sango seems to understand what you're getting at, Inuyasha, but would you mind, for the rest of us, just saying straight out, whatever it is you've been talking around." His face remained serene, but his voice was starting to sound a bit exasperated.

Inuyasha nodded. "Kagome and I, when we started hunting the jewel shards, fought the Thunder Brothers, Hiten and Manten. After that, we took Shippo in with us, feeding him and protecting him. What we didn't know then, that we just realized, is that when we did that, we formed the core of a pack."

The silence in the hut was complete, no one knowing quite what to say or ask. Finally, Kaede spoke up.

"I see how this affects ye Inuyasha, and Kagome and the little kit, but how does that apply to the rest of us. I am assuming that I am included in this 'pack', am I not?" Kaede stated calmly.

Kagome nodded and said, "Everyone here, and Myoga when he returns, is a member of our pack. I've been doing some reading about pack structures in nature, and Myoga told me that youkai packs are somewhat similar, so I think I can explain some of this." While she was speaking, she was stroking Shippo's head gently. "After Shippo, Inuyasha and I formed the basic pack; Myoga became an elder adviser; even though he doesn't fight, he still contributes with his knowledge and experience. Kaede, you fill a similar position: adviser, healer, and protector of the den. When Miroku joined us, it was as if he was a lone hunter seeking support by combining hunting skills. The same thing happened when Sango and Kirara joined us."

A tiny voice piped up from just inside the doorway, "I see, Lord Inuyasha. You have finally realized what has happened. I'm pleased, my lord, very pleased that you are finally fulfilling your…"

MOOSH. Inuyasha squeezed Myoga between his fingers. "Damn it, Myoga! Why didn't you tell me before, if it was so damn obvious what was happening!"

Kagome squeezed his shoulder again, shaking her head slightly when he looked at her. He took a deep breath and nodded back at her before continuing on "That's not important. What is important is that all of you know what has happened. It's not right that you be kept in the dark about this."

Miroku nodded thoughtfully, "I see. But, how will this affect the rest of us? Will there be changes in all of our relationships with each other?" his gaze turned to Sango for a moment, but than back to Inuyasha's. "And how is it possible for youkai and humans to form a pack?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I don't know the answers to any of your questions. I was hoping that Myoga might be able to answer some things, but…" he trailed off, looking down to where Myoga was sitting on the floor.

Myoga spoke then, very serious. "To the best of my knowledge, a pack such as this one has never existed before. On very rare occasions, a different type of youkai will be accepted into an already existing pack, but only in the most exceptional circumstances. Humans and youkai simply do not mix together. And yet, here we are. An inu-hanyou pack leader, a human miko as lead-female, a Buddhist monk, a female taijiya and a two-tail firecat as pack hunters, a flea-youkai and a human miko as pack elders, and a kitsune baby as the pup. By all **_reasonable_** and **_rational_** standards, none of us should be able to even stay in the same room without fighting; but instead we make up a pack. Truthfully, I have no idea why this happened or how it is even possible."

Again silence fell on the occupants of the hut, while they struggled with all the information they had been presented with.

After a few minutes of thoughtful silence, Myoga spoke again. "There are a few other points that I need to mention. Ahem, up until now, the fact that we formed a pack made no real difference, either to ourselves or to any others we met. Now, however, things have changed."

"Changed? What do you mean changed?" Inuyasha asked, frowning at the tiny flea-demon.

"Well, since you became aware that you are our pack leader, you have been marking all of us, and this hut as well, as yours. Strongly. Amazingly so, considering your…"

"**_Shut up, Myoga! Not another word!"_ **Inuyasha snapped, barely leashed rage evident in his voice and posture.

"My lord, it is nothing to be ashamed…" Myoga began.

"**_SHUT UP!"_** He snarled.

Shocked, Kagome reached down and covered his clenched fist with her small hand. "Inuyasha? What's wrong?" When he didn't answer her, she moved Shippo off her lap and reached out and cupped his cheeks in her hands and turned him to face her. "Hey. It's okay, Inuyasha. Talk to me, please?"

He looked at her for almost a full minute, his jaw clenched tight. Finally, he just nodded at her, and said, "Fine, just tell them, Myoga." After speaking, he turned back towards everyone else, but kept his eyes down, and shaded by his silver bangs. Kagome knelt back down next to him and pulled Shippo back into her lap, although she kept one of her hands resting on top of his leg.

Myoga sighed and said, "In the normal course of events, an inu-youkai who wished to form a pack, assuming that he was even capable of doing so, would do this after reaching at least 100 or so years of age. Lord Inuyasha, not counting the 50 years that he spent sealed to that tree, is approximately sixteen years old."

Again silence fell.

Miroku stared at Inuyasha, his eyes wide, then he turned and looked at Sango, who was staring at Inuyasha, and slowly nodding her head.

"Well…" Sango paused, then started again, "That explains a few things." _'He's even younger than I am! No wonder his emotions are so…powerful. For youkai he's not even physically mature, never mind emotionally!'_

Miroku nodded in agreement and added, "Indeed it does, and it makes your accomplishments all the more remarkable, to realize that you are still so young." He paused for thought, then asked, "Myoga, you mentioned that Inuyasha was 'marking' us. What did you mean by that?"

Myoga replied, very seriously, "Lord Inuyasha has been transferring his scent on to all of you, ever since he entered this hut. It identifies all of you as members of the same pack. His pack. Any youkai that you meet, from now on, will instantly know that you belong to a pack, and whose pack you belong to. I know that humans cannot smell very well, but I assure you that any youkai will recognize the mark of your pack." He shrugged and raised his hands up, "They might not believe what they're scenting, but it's unmistakable."

Kaede looked at each person closely, before she addressed Myoga, "There be more to this 'mark' than merely identification, is there not. What else may we expect?"

Myoga nodded, "In general, there are two types of packs. The first is a long-established pack, where the leadership is inherited. A perfect example is Koga's pack. It has strength in numbers, but it tends to be loosely organized, and, well, the members usually have no truly strong attachment to each other. The second type is formed when the pack leader forges a strong bond with every member. This type of pack may have fewer members, but it is much stronger and more cohesive."

Kaede nodded her head in understanding, "Then 'tis as I thought. Inuyasha, do ye realize what this means to ye, lad?"

Inuyasha looked at her, puzzled by her question, then he snorted. "Keh. Just because I'm young, that doesn't mean I'm stupid, baba."

She looked at him calmly, then said "Ye must tell us all, Inuyasha. Leave no room for misunderstandings, 'tis far too important."

Inuyasha tensed at her words, but slowly forced himself to relax, "Alright, baba." He looked at everyone in turn, slowly making eye contact with each. "What you need to know is, is that a pack bond like what Myoga is talking about, it's the same as a family. Closer really, if I'm understanding what my instincts are telling me."

Sango gasped, "Family! But…" _'My family is dead! Except for Kohaku…and if I can't free him from Naraku, he's worse than dead.'_

Miroku blinked, but his face never lost its façade of serenity, even as his thoughts tumbled back and forth. _'How will my Kazaana be effected by this? Will Shippo be forced to bear this curse…? He isn't of my blood, but what about souls? No, I'll worry about this later, for now I need to concentrate on the present.' _

Shippo froze in Kagome's lap, then slowly turned his face up to hers, searching for…something.

Kagome looked down at the little kitsune in her lap, and gently smiled at him as she nodded, acknowledging his unspoken question. _'Yes, Shippo, you are my son. I may not have known it before, but I do now.'_ She switched her gaze to Inuyasha, and when he met hers, she nodded down at the kit in her lap. He looked at her and quirked a tiny grin as he nodded to her, then he reached down and ruffled Shippo's red hair softly.

Shippo looked back and forth between the two of them, and then buried his face in Kagome's, no, **_his mother's_** lap and began to weep softly.

Inuyasha watched him for a moment, then leaned over and whispered in Kagome's ear, "You know, I just realized I hate it when he cries, almost as much as when you do."

She suddenly smiled and said, "I'm glad."

The discussion continued for another two hours, with Myoga trying to answer questions as best he could, although he would frequently simply say that 'I don't know'. Even Inuyasha seemed to be more relaxed, as the obvious acceptance from everyone to being a part of the pack grew. Kagome spent most of the time cuddling the sleeping kitsune in her lap, only responding to direct questions or to help Inuyasha with explanations about her time.

At last she turned her attention fully to the rest of the group, no **_their pack_**, and said, "Unless someone has any questions that need immediate answers, I think that we should call it a night, and get ready for tomorrow. I expect that we will all have plenty of questions after a good night's sleep."

She stood and carried Shippo over to her futon, where she laid him down gently, before retrieving her sleeping bag from her pack and opening it up. After tucking him into it, she put her pack away, while the others slowly made ready to sleep, and then slid in and cuddled him to her breast as she fell asleep.

Inuyasha just leaned back against the wall, next to her futon, and relaxed while he contemplated the evening's revelations.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Author's Note: Spring Break is over, and the kids are back in school. Hopefully I'll have some more time for writing. I've been revising some of my already written chapters, but I need to get back to work on the story. Thanks for all the nice words, and I'll see you soon.

Chapter 15 

Kagome opened her eyes the next morning, to see that everyone else was still apparently sleeping. Moving carefully, she slid out of her sleeping bag, gently tucking the bag back around Shippo so he could stay asleep. She quietly stirred up the banked fire and moved the pot of water over the flames, as a first step in making breakfast. As she worked, Inuyasha suddenly stood up, gave her a look that caused her heart to beat just a little faster, and silently left the hut.

As the water began to boil, Sango and Miroku both woke up. Sango began setting out bowls and cups for their breakfast and Miroku found the left over soup from the night before, which he handed to Kagome in silence. Kagome used the boiling water to steep a pot of tea as well as to prepare a small pot of rice and millet gruel.

Soon the smells of cooking food roused the others, and Sango and Kagome dished out food and passed it around. Inuyasha returned and they all sat down to eat with an odd sense of contentment. It wasn't until everyone had finished breakfast that a word was spoken.

Kaede broke the silence at last. "Will ye be leaving this morning, or do ye intend to stay another day?"

Inuyasha looked at Kagome for a moment, than glanced around at the others. "We need to take care of some things before we can leave, but I want to go before lunch." Turning his attention directly to Miroku and Sango, he asked, "Have you heard any rumors that might be profitable, houshi? Or you, Sango?" He stood up, stretching his arms up and over his head. Walking back over to the wall, he picked up the two bags lying there, and brought them back to center of the room. Dropping them to the floor, he sat cross-legged next to them, and went on, "We picked up quite a bit of Kagome's preserved food, so we can travel fast and far, if we need to. Kaede, I'd like to leave most of it here, so we can restock quickly if necessary…"

Sango interrupted him, "Inuyasha, this is great! Kirara and I could come back and pick up more things, whenever we needed them, even without being able to go through the well."

Kagome smiled and answered her, "Exactly. I also brought a lot more first aid supplies, for the same reason." Turning to Kaede, she went on "I've packed some of them up so that each bag holds the most commonly used items. In addition, I've prepared some antibiotic creams and burn ointments that you might find helpful." Pulling plastic bags out of her backpack, Kagome handed the items she intended for Kaede's use to her.

Kaede nodded her thanks, and placed the medicines in a chest next to her futon. She also handed Kagome a large, covered basket. "Here, child. Place the other items you wish to leave in here, for safe keeping."

Kagome smiled at her and said, "Thank you," before transferring all of the ziplock bags full of first aid supplies inside the basket. She also began packing extra food supplies from the duffle bags into it. As she did, the others were discussing some rumors that had come in during the last few days. When the basket was full, over three quarters of the food was now set aside for their later use.

Pushing the basket to one side, she removed one last bag, which she handed to Inuyasha. He looked at it in surprise, than remembering her earlier suggestion, he nodded and put it in his lap. Turning his attention back to the conversation, he broke in.

"That sounds like a good idea, Sango. If you follow up with any traders we meet, and Miroku can get some of the Buddhist monks and priests to pass information to him, maybe we can track some of the shards down, before Naraku gets his filthy hands on them." Turning his gaze to Shippo, who was scratching Kirara's ears, while sitting next to Kagome, he said "Shippo, come over here."

"Huh, what? I didn't do anything, I swear!" He said nervously, as everyone smiled or chuckled at his response.

"I never said you did. I just said 'come over here', I have some things I want you to have." Was Inuyasha's calm reply.

At the sound of Inuyasha's calm voice, so unlike his normally gruff or irritated tones, Shippo began to get worried. _'What's wrong with Dog-boy, he **never** talks like that! It's like he's trying to be nice, or something!'_ He looked over at Kagome, who smiled and nodded at him, than he slowly got up and walked over to stand in front of the sitting Inuyasha. "Okay, I'm here. What is it that you wanted me to have?" he asked nervously.

Inuyasha smirked at him, "I'm not gonna eat you, runt. Sit down," he pointed at the floor, "You've been getting bigger, and I think that you're ready, now."

Sitting down, Shippo asked, "Ready for what?"

Reaching into the bag, Inuyasha replied "A couple of things. First, I want you to have this." He handed a small box to the kit.

Shippo turned the plain brown box over and over in his hands. Finally, he used his claws to tear it open and unwrapped the paper from around the gift. "Oooohh…" he whispered, looking at the tiny katana shaped dagger. He unsheathed it and studied the short, but very sharp blade. After playing with it for a couple of minutes, he became aware of the indulgent gazes of the adults in the room. Blushing, he carefully tucked it into an inside pocket of his vest. Looking up at the hanyou with shining eyes, he said, "Thank you, thank you very much."

"Keh," picking up the larger box, Inuyasha held it in his hands for a moment, before saying, "Shippo, that knife is a tool, useful for lots of things, but still…just a tool. This is different," he opened the box and removed another sheathed blade. "This is a weapon. Use it to defend yourself and others. Never use it casually." He looked at Shippo very seriously, than presented it to him with both hands.

Shippo looked at the blade, than slowly took it in his own hands. Clasping the blade, a sword really for someone as small as he was, to his chest he tried to speak, "Inuyasha, I, I…" finally he couldn't hold the tears back any longer, "Waaaaa!" As he started to cry, he leapt into Inuyasha's lap and wrapped his little arms as far around the much larger hanyou as he could.

Startled and confused, Inuyasha looked at Kagome for help. She smiled, teary eyed, and mimed placing her arms around someone. Inuyasha gulped, and tentatively wrapped his arms around the crying child. They continued to sit that way for a few minutes until Shippo managed to get his tears under control.

Wiping his eyes, he said "I, I don't understand why, but…thank you." Sniffling a little, he added, "I'll always use it to protect, never to hurt, I promise." Turning around to face the rest of the room, he sat down on Inuyasha's lap, and held his sword tightly, hilt upwards, unconsciously mimicking the hanyou.

Miroku grinned and started to make a comment, but Sango shook her head, and placed her hand warningly on Hiraikotsu, so he restrained the impulse to tease Inuyasha about his new 'son' and instead, said "If we start in the direction of my foster fathers temple, I can have him pass the word about what we're looking for to the other temples and wandering monks. He has contacts and friends in all of the kingdoms, and it might be easier for us to contact him, rather than him trying to find us." He shrugged, "Although this village is our home, we travel too far, and too fast, for messages to catch up with us easily.

Inuyasha nodded to him, than addressed everyone, "I want to leave within the hour, so get what you need, and let's go."

The pack meeting dissolved into a flurry of activity, as they each began packing or preparing for departure in whatever manner suited them best. While Kagome was packing her backpack with food and other supplies, she removed the other gifts she had purchased, and presented them to her friends in private, one at a time.

In less than an hour, the pack had assembled outside Kaede's hut, and with a last farewell to Kaede, Kirara transformed, Sango and Miroku climbed onto her back, Inuyasha knelt down in front of Kagome so she could ride on his back and Shippo finally decided, after much struggle, that he should ride with Sango and Miroku. After all, they were only human, and they needed a youkai to protect them.

Inuyasha looked at Kaede for a moment, then said, "We'll see you when we get back, baba." Kagome just shook her head at his manners, smiled at Kaede, and said "Good bye!" as he started running towards the forest that bore his name.

Traveling rapidly, they finally stopped for rest and a meal after about four hours. Making a quick lunch from some bread and cheese, they also made plans to reach a fishing town on the coast by evening.

Sango was describing the town, "It's not small, and probably has five or six hundred people living there. Most of them make a living directly, or indirectly, from fishing. I was there once with my father, when they had a problem with some serpent youkai, it took about a week to track them all down and exterminate them, and I became friendly with the headman's daughter. They get a lot of traders through their town, and it might be a good place to hear some rumors."

Kagome asked, "Do any ships from other lands stop at this town, Sango?"

"I don't have any idea, Kagome. I must admit that it never occurred to me to ask about foreigners," she replied apologetically.

Kagome nodded. "I was curious, because it occurred to me that if someone took a shard overseas, it might be impossible to ever complete the Shikon no Tama."

Inuyasha flinched, "Gods, Kagome! Don't even say that! If any of the shards go overseas…" He shook his head. "I don't even want to think about it. It's bad enough that Naraku now has so much of the Jewel, but to not be able to complete it after he's defeated?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, seriously, this is something I've been thinking about lately, and not just because of how hard it would make it for us to complete the Shikon no Tama. But, that it might be the only way to keep **_Naraku_** from completing the Jewel."

Her words, stating out loud what they had all considered at least occasionally, shocked everyone into silence.

"Hey, I'm not saying he's gonna win. I think we're going to find him, and kick his butt. It's just that, sometimes I get worried," she told them, taking another sip of her tea.

Miroku stared at his right hand for a moment, then closed it in a hard fist. Looking up, he said, "She's right. We will find him, and we will 'kick his butt'" He smiled and added, "You always seem to have the most interesting ways of saying things, Kagome."

"Well, if we're gonna find him, we need to find more shards before he does, and maybe while we're looking for the shards, we can find out what he's up to, and screw up his plans, just like we did with Kaguya." Inuyasha said, standing up and stretching. "Let's clean this stuff up, and get moving."

Covering the fire, and putting away the uneaten food took only a few moments. Dividing up as before, the pack moved on, heading for the coast and a fishing town that might have some clues to where they need to go.

As Inuyasha leaped from tree to tree, Kagome clung to his back and practiced using her detection ability, trying to locate any shards (not that she expected to find any that way) or youkai in the vicinity. To her surprise, she found that she could not only detect the shards that she and Miroku carried and the youkai in their party, but that she could even **_feel_** the human members of their pack. Concentrating, she realized that she could tell how far away and in what direction they were, even better than she could detect shards or youkai. _'I could never do that before. I wonder if it has anything to do with our all realizing that we are a 'pack' or if this is something I could have done if I had only tried. Maybe Myoga or Inuyasha know?'_

"Inuyasha? Can I ask you something?"

"Huh? What is it?"

"Well, just now, I was trying to see if I could spot any youkai or shards nearby, just like I usually do, when I noticed that I could sense Sango and Miroku just like I can sense you and Shippo. Does this have anything to do with being a pack? I could never detect humans like that before, and I was wondering…" her voice trailed off.

Though she couldn't see it, she could feel Inuyasha frowning, "I don't know. It might have something to do with the pack bond. I can feel a connection to all of you, but…" pausing, he thought for a moment, "We'll ask Myoga if he knows anything about it, but seeing as how this pack of ours is so different, I bet anything he tells us will be a guess." He snorted a quick laugh, and said, "Kagome, you said you can feel Sango and Miroku, just like you do Shippo and me, but what do you mean by that? How strong is the connection?"

She leaned her forehead against his shoulder, closed her eyes and concentrated again. The other members of the pack swam into her awareness, even Kaede's. Although Kaede was many kilometers away, her presence was just as strong as Sango's or Myoga's, a hundred paces away running across the sky.

"Interesting. Inuyasha, when I concentrate on just the pack, I can feel all of us, even Kaede. It doesn't seem to matter how close or how far away they are. I mean, I can tell which direction, and sort of how far away, but the connection seems to be equally strong, no matter the distance." She carefully did not tell him that her _awareness_ of him, which she had told him about on Friday, had grown even stronger, and she feared that it was because of her feeling towards him. She knew that she didn't have any right to a claim on him, and she didn't want to embarrass or pressure him.

"Can you sense anything more about them, Kagome?" he asked, wondering if she was learning to read minds or emotions, sort of like what Goshinki did.

"I don't think so. I can't tell what they are feeling or anything. I _think_ that everyone is okay, but I don't know if it's because I know they are, from just seeing them, or if I'm feeling that everyone is okay." She shrugged, "This is all new to me, Inuyasha. I'm not sure what it all means."

Inuyasha swallowed hard. The sensations created when Kagome had shrugged against his back were, disturbing. Nice, but disturbing. "O-Okay, we'll ask Myoga when we land, alright?" He managed to say, in an almost normal voice.

Kagome looked at the back of his head, wondering what had caused that hitch in his voice, then she slowly smiled and lay her head back on his shoulder, a little smile appearing on her lips.

As the sun settled lower in the west, Kirara flew lower, approaching the treetops that Inuyasha was traveling through. Sango called out "Inuyasha, the village is just over the next hill. I think we should land, and walk in from here, alright?"

Inuyasha glanced over at Sango and the others and nodded. Choosing an opening in the forest, he dropped down to the ground and waited for the rest to catch up. Kagome carefully slid down off his back, and stretched the kinks out while waiting. Kirara landed and transformed into her small form as soon as everyone had dismounted.

Shippo scampered over and hugged Kagome around her leg. "Did you miss me? I was really good, and made sure that Sango and Miroku were safe. Plus, Myoga helped me with practicing my fox magic. I'm getting lots better, you know," as he talked, he climbed up until he was settled on her shoulder.

"I know, little one. Myoga told me that you've been working very hard, and that you've been very good about listening to Miroku and Sango as well. I was very pleased to hear that," she said as she smiled approvingly at him.

Inuyasha looked over at Kagome and Shippo, and felt a surge of … something, something he didn't recognize, and was almost afraid to try to identify. As he watched them, he suddenly frowned. "Shippo, where's your sword?"

Shippo looked over at him in surprise, then said, "Oh, Sango has it, she's making a harness so I carry it on my back." He sighed, very dramatically, and went on "I'm still too little to carry it like you do, so she's going to show me a different way." As he was explaining this to Inuyasha, Sango walked up, sheathed knife in her hand.

"Shippo, hop down, take off your vest and let's try this harness on." She knelt down, and as Shippo stopped in front of her, she held the little sword up against his back and adjusted some straps she had made out of leather, until the sword was firmly fastened to his back, the hilt poking up behind his right shoulder. Stepping back she looked at her work critically, and nodded in satisfaction. "Put your vest back on and we'll try using it a few times."

Shippo did as he was told, and carefully drew his little sword, swished it back and forth a few times, and then slowly and carefully resheathed it. Under Sango's critical eye, Shippo practiced for several minutes, drawing and sheathing his sword, over and over, until at last, she said, "That's enough for now. The most important thing for you to learn right now, is how to safely draw your sword, and how to return it to the sheath. Carrying it on your back has some advantages, but it is easier to hurt yourself this way."

Shippo looked at his sword one last time, before carefully replacing it. When he had, he fingered his ear, and said, "Yeah, I can see why you want to be careful. It would be really easy to lose an ear, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, it would. So," looking at Inuyasha, she asked, "Are we ready?"

He nodded to her, and before Kagome realized, he had slung her pack over his shoulders and was holding her bow and quiver out to her. She looked surprised, but accepted them without objecting.

Sango and Miroku exchanged wondering looks, but also decided not to comment. Yet. Sango picked up Kirara, and Miroku looked down at Shippo and said, "Ride with me, Shippo. Let's see if you remember your numbers from yesterday."

Shippo sighed, but jumped up to the monks shoulder and began counting out loud, using his fingers, as the pack began to walk up the path that led to the coastal town.

Unlike many towns and villages, this town had a wall surrounding it; it was mostly constructed from packed dirt, with stone and wood used to reinforce it. It stood about ten feet high, although the shallow ditch directly in front seemed to add another two or three feet to its height.

"Hmmph. I've seen castles with weaker walls," Inuyasha commented as they approached the open gates. A small group of armed men stood in the road, watching them as they approached.

"Indeed, I wonder why they felt the need to build such defenses around their town? Perhaps things are not as peaceful as they appear?" Miroku replied.

"Sango, you said that you've been here before. See what you can do to get us in without a fight, alright?" Inuyasha directed, as he eased Kagome to one side, allowing Sango to step up even with them.

Ignoring the shocked look from Shippo and Miroku, and the admiring one from Kagome, Inuyasha watched the top of the wall almost as carefully as he watched the armed guards.

When the guards called them to stop, they all did so, allowing Sango to step a pace closer.

"Greetings, my companions and I are seeking a place to spend the night, as well as to speak with your headman. When I was last here, I believe that Matushina-san was headman. Is that still the case?" Sango spoke clearly and firmly, not a trace of humility or subservience in her voice.

"Who are you…people? And why do you wish to meet the headman?" Although his tone was polite, he was obviously nervous at the presence of at least two demons in their party, although having a monk with them was comforting.

"My name is Sango, my father…was Kohatsu, the leader of the taijiya of Musashi. We are tracking a very dangerous youkai, and it is our hope that your headman will have some information for us."

The guards exchanged nervous, but oddly relieved looks at hearing who they were, and the leader nodded rapidly. "I see, of course I'll have you taken to his house immediately." Gesturing at his men to clear a path, he pointed to one of them and said, "Jin, guide them to the headman, quickly."

"Hai!"

Sango thanked him and stepped back as the guard, Jin, bowed and said, "Please follow me," as he strode off at a quick pace. Looking at Inuyasha, Sango shrugged her ignorance of why they were so pleased to see them.

Miroku waited until Sango was walking alongside him again, when he spoke softly to her, "I think that perhaps this peaceful village is having some difficulties with youkai. When he heard that we were tracking a dangerous youkai, he wasn't frightened or upset. He was pleased. I'm not sure I like that."

"I agree. There's trouble of some kind going on here." She subtly worked her shoulders, loosening up in case of a fight. "We'll find out soon enough."

He nodded in agreement, and began studying the town and people carefully, looking for any signs of what the trouble might be.

Inuyasha, having no difficulty hearing what Sango and Miroku had been discussing, silently agreed. Turning slightly to face Kagome, he said, "Sango thinks they're have youkai trouble. See if you can sense anything."

She looked up at him, startled by his soft words, then nodded and reached out and slid her arm through his. "Okay, guide me while I walk." As she said this, she closed her eyes and extended her senses outward. Breathing slowly and carefully, she reached out to the edge of the town, and beyond. Finally, she felt a cluster of unfamiliar youki, as well as…! Opening her eyes, she said, "Inuyasha, I felt a shard. It was with a cluster of youkai. I'm not sure what kind they are, it felt…different, as if it's a type I've never met before."

He nodded and said, "Alright. We'll talk to this headman, then tomorrow, we'll go get the shard." He grinned happily, "Hey, maybe we'll get lucky, and that cluster of youkai is why they are so happy to see us."

She just shook her head and smiled at him. As they walked down the street, she saw a relatively large house standing at the edge of the open market place. When their escort stopped and rang the bell hanging next to the door, she was certain that this was the headman's home. As the door opened and an elderly woman began talking with the guard, she noticed that the house was warded, not well, and not strongly, but someone had placed demon repelling wards on all the entrances.

"Inuyasha, this house is warded against youkai, be careful when you enter, it might hurt a bit."

He looked at her and said, "Won't it stop me?"

She shook her head and said, "Not a chance. They might stop an imp or a minor demon, but nothing more."

"What about Shippo? And Kirara?" he asked, concern for their well being clear in his voice.

Kagome simply said, "Once you cross the threshold, the wards are going to be down. I'll ask Miroku to replace them later." She grinned mischievously at him and went on, "With a few minor modifications, of course."

Before he could reply, their escort beckoned them onward. As he crossed the threshold, he felt a flash of heat, and heard a soundless 'pop' as the wards collapsed around him. Turning to glance at Kagome, he saw her grin and mouth the words 'I told you' at him. He just snorted and watched as Kirara and Shippo entered, obviously feeling nothing.

They were led to a large, plainly furnished room and offered cushions to sit on and told that refreshments would be brought immediately. The elderly woman bowed and left, while their escort stood next to the door patiently.

After only long enough to shed their packs and other burdens, the woman returned bearing a tray filled with a variety of cakes and pastries, right behind her was a younger woman, about Sango's age carrying a tray with a large teapot and many cups. As the trays were placed on the low table, Sango gasped and said, "Oh, it is you. Matoko-san, it's good to see you again!"

The two women bowed, and the elderly one left, while the younger, Matoko, ran over and hugged Sango tightly.

"I'm so glad to see you again, Sango-san. It has been so long. My father will be so pleased that you are here. But, forgive me, who are your companions? They do not look as if they are from your village, are they?" She asked curiously, looking at everyone. When she realized that Inuyasha was a youkai, she paled in fright. "S-Sango-san! He…he is a…why is traveling with you?" Her voice rising as she spoke.

"Calm down, Matoko." Sango grasped her friend by her shoulders. "Inuyasha is a friend. He is no danger to you or anyone here. We would like to help you, since it's obvious you need it." Her friend looked back at Inuyasha, and back at Sango.

"I-I'm sorry. It's just that my husband…he was killed by a youkai last year, and I barely escaped with my life," she explained shakily.

As she began to calm down, Inuyasha relaxed and sat back down with his back to the wall. Kagome went over and sat next to him, placing her bow and quiver at her side. Sango led her friend to a cushion next to the table and sat down with her to try and understand what had happened.

As she began to tell Sango about her husband's death, which was also the beginning of the town's problems with youkai, Shippo walked over to the table and checked out the refreshments. Spotting a couple that looked good, he reached out for them, then stopped himself. Turning, he trotted back to where Kagome was sitting and looking soulful, asked, "Kagome, may I please have some of the refreshments to eat?"

Kagome looked at him for a moment, then said, "Yes, Shippo, you may. But, only two, alright?"

He smiled at her and said happily, "Thanks, Okaa-san!" and turn back to the table, without even realizing what he had said. The same could not be said for everyone else in the room.

Kagome's breath caught, and she clasped her hand to her breast, as she realized, _'Oh, my god! He called me 'mother!' Oh, oh my…'_ As she sat there, Inuyasha reached over and put his arm around her shoulders as tears started to pool in her eyes. _'I'm so happy!'_

Sango and Miroku exchanged a long, silent look before Sango turned back to continue speaking with Matoko. When Shippo had chosen his two pastries, he scampered back to Kagome and climbed up in her lap, oblivious to the tears that had just started to seep from her eyes.

Matoko watched all of this in confusion. Finally, she asked Sango, "Did he just call her…?"

"Yes. Don't worry about it. I'll explain it all to you later, alright," Sango interrupted, before she could complete her question. "Let's finish your story first, okay? I think that it will provide some of the background we need, before your father returns, true?"

Matoko nodded slowly, and returned to her narrative. "After you and your family cleaned out that nest of youkai, we had no real problems until just over a year ago. My husband and I were returning with a merchant caravan from Edo, and when we were only a day's travel away from home, our party was attacked by a group of serpent youkai. They were led by a large, black serpent, with only one eye. But, that eye **_glowed!_** It was bright red, and flame shot out of it. When we were attacked, we fought back as best as we could, but we were fisherman and merchants, not warriors. Dano, my husband, put me on his horse and handed our son to me. He told me to flee, and to warn everyone that the youkai had returned." She looked at Sango with tears in her eyes, "I never saw him again. And many of our people have been slain by these creatures. That's why I reacted so badly. I apologize. I only hope that you can help us, some how. But, Sango, these youkai are much more powerful than the ones you fought five years ago, and there are far fewer of you than came last time."

She looked around at the people sitting at their ease around the room, before turning back. "I fear that you will only lose your lives if you try to fight them," she said softly, obviously very worried.

"Feh!" Inuyasha scoffed, contemptuously.

Matoko started at the sound the silver-haired youkai…no, a hanyou, made. Eyes wide, she stared at him as he whispered to the young women sitting next to him. She nodded and smiled, then closed her eyes and seemed to go into a trance. The little kitsune in her lap seemed not to notice as he started on the second pastry he had taken from the tray. While she watched the young women, her father finally arrived.

A tall, weather-beaten man, with only a few streaks of gray in his black hair, strode into the room. Sango and Miroku rose and nodded politely, although Inuyasha remained sitting, as Kagome still seemed to be in a trance of some sort.

"Father, this is Sango-san, from the Musashi taijiya, she and her companions have just arrived and…" Matoko began, only to be interrupted by her father.

"Of course, I remember her, and her father as well! Has he come with her, Matoko?" His voice boomed in the room, clearly he was more accustomed to speaking out of doors, on the docks or between fishing boats.

When Sango's face froze at the mention of her father, he sighed and said gently, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. At any rate, please introduce your friends. I see that you've been provided refreshments, and I hope Matoko has given you a description of the difficulties that we face."

Sango forced herself to relax, and said "Good evening, Matushina-san, I would like to present our leader, Inuyasha," she pointed to where Inuyasha still sat holding Kagome, whose eyes were still closed. Inuyasha nodded to him, but didn't say anything. "Higurashi Kagome, sitting next to him." Kagome didn't react in any way to the introduction, so Sango went on, "Miroku-sama, a Buddhist monk, and Shippo-chan."

Miroku bowed politely and Shippo waved and said, "Hi!"

As he looked at the unusual collection of people, well, people and youkai, facing him, he wondered whether they could possibly be of any help. Before he could voice his concerns, the oddly dressed young woman being held by the hanyou, opened her eyes, blinked once, then smiled cheerfully at him.

Turning to Inuyasha, she started to whisper, when he shook his head and said, "Tell everyone, Kagome."

She looked at him in surprise, then nodded and began speaking. "The nest of youkai is about 8 or 9 ri to the northwest. There are about a dozen youkai, I think they may be serpent youkai, but…" she shrugged gracefully. "There is also one shard, but it doesn't seem to be a particularly large one."

The headman's jaw dropped as he heard her calmly detail the location and number of youkai that had been terrorizing his town. And she had apparently done it while sitting in his home.

He finally managed to close his mouth and speak. "Are you certain Higurashi-sama?" He was uncertain of her rank, and had never heard of her family, but he didn't want to offend someone who clearly had great powers.

She shrugged again, but set the kitsune on her lap to one side and stood up, the hanyou standing with her. "I may be wrong about them being serpent youkai, but they do feel, well, **_cold_** somehow. They're reptilian anyways."

The headman cleared his throat and asked Sango, "Will you try to rid us of this threat? And what can we offer you in return?"

Even though Sango had told him that Inuyasha was their leader, he was still surprised when he answered him. "We'll take care of your snake problem tomorrow; as far as payment…we don't need much, just food and shelter until we're finished, and after that…" Inuyasha paused a moment in thought, "we could use any information about unusually powerful youkai, or even humans who have become, well, magically powerful. We're especially interested in anything you hear about a demon called Naraku."

As he listened to Inuyasha speak, Miroku was impressed at his concise request, although he **_was_** disappointed that he hadn't asked for any money or goods as a reward, but Inuyasha was their leader, so that was that.

Matushina-san was surprised at his simple requests, but said "Of course, you may stay here, with my family, until you are ready to depart. As for the other, I'll speak with all those who trade with other towns and domains, and ask that they look for the information you wish." Turning to his daughter, he said, "Matoko, please provide them with as many rooms as they require, as well as a full meal here."

Matoko bowed and said, "Of course, father. The meal is already being prepared, and I will show them to their rooms when they have dined."

Matushina-san said "If there is nothing else that I can do for you tonight, I will leave you in peace." He bowed respectfully and left the room.

After he had left, Matoko offered them tea, pouring and presenting the tea with a minimum of ceremony. As she finished pouring, the door slid open again, and three young women brought in trays filled with a variety of dishes. Setting them down on the side table, one of them placed platters on the table for each of them, while the other two began serving the food.

The five of them knelt down and began eating, while chatting about what Matoko and her father had told them, and making some preliminary plans for fighting the youkai the next day. To Kagome's amusement, Inuyasha carefully sniffed each dish before he would eat it, and he completely avoided any of the spicy dishes.

When the meal was nearly over, Matoko asked, "Sango-san, what will you require for sleeping? I've had baths prepared for you as well, whenever you are ready."

Sango looked at Kagome and exchanged big grins at the mention of baths, then after Inuyasha nodded at her, she replied to Matoko, "We prefer to share one room, if that is possible. I believe that we are finished dining, so…" She looked at Matoko expectantly, who nodded and rose.

"Please follow me. I will show you to your quarters first, than the baths are immediately adjacent to them." The young woman led them from the room, and around to the back of the large house. She stopped outside a room and slid the shoji open, and gestured for them to enter.

The room was almost as large as the room that they had dined in, with folded futons stacked neatly against one wall, and floor cushions arranged around a table in the center of the room. Privacy screens blocked off one end of the room from view.

As they looked around the room, Kagome headed for the corner farthest from the door, and placed her weapons neatly against the wall. Inuyasha followed and set her pack down right next to the weapons, then dropped down and leaned against the wall to watch everyone else.

Sango and Matoko were speaking over by the door, Shippo was dragging a futon across the room to where Kagome's things were waiting, and Kagome had pulled Miroku off to one side and was talking very seriously to him.

"Miroku, I have some bad news for you," she said solemnly, although there was a little twinkle in her dark eyes.

"Yes, Lady Kagome, what seems to be the problem?" Miroku asked, just a bit warily.

"Well, you see, this house had some demon repelling wards on the entrances, and…" she paused, watching him carefully.

"Had? Does this mean that they are no longer present? Did you dispel them?" he asked.

"Oh no! I assure you, I had nothing to do with it. It's just that, well, they weren't very strong," Kagome spoke very earnestly, the very picture of innocence, "and when Inuyasha walked in, they, well they collapsed."

"They…collapsed. Just like that?" Miroku shook his head sadly. "Shoddy craftsmanship. Terrible, it's a crime what some people are passing off as a true blessing these days."

"I agree. And I thought, since we've been offered the hospitality of the house, that you might, perhaps…replace them?" Kagome definitely had a twinkle in her eyes now, and was watching Miroku closely.

Miroku suddenly smiled. "In the interests of reciprocal hospitality, I would be delighted to replace their 'collapsed' wards with true protection." He flicked a glance to where Inuyasha was sitting and Shippo was struggling to lay out a futon, "With a few minor modifications, of course."

Kagome's grin finally escaped, "Oh, of course." She slapped him on the shoulder as she turned and headed back to her backpack.

Miroku grinned and turned to leave the room, stopping to speak to Matoko as he left.

"Lady Matoko, if you don't mind, I would like to reinforce the wards placed on this house. I fear that perhaps time has weakened them a bit, and I would not like to think that so beautiful a lady was at risk." He smiled charmingly at her, as he took one of her hands in his, and gently stoked it.

She giggled at him, and said, "No lady am I, Lord Miroku. Do as you wish, though in truth, I always thought my father had been cheated when he paid to have demon repelling wards raised around the house." She looked over at Inuyasha who was talking quietly to Kagome as she retrieved something from her pack. "Especially when your friends walked in, as if nothing was there." The last was said with a trace of fear.

Sango shook her head, "No, there were wards, it's just that they weren't very powerful, and well, Inuyasha is…stubborn."

"Stubborn? Lady Sango, how can say that to your friend, you'll give her a bad impression of Inuyasha, he is most gentle and kind. It is only…"

"I heard that, monk." Inuyasha growled from the far corner of the room.

Miroku just laughed and bowed to the two women standing in front of him, and left the room still chuckling.

Kagome walked up to Sango and Matoko, a towel and a long robe folded over one arm, and a small mesh bag dangling from her hand. "Sango, would you care to join me in the bath?" Kagome asked cheerfully.

Sango nodded and said, "Give me a moment to fetch my things, and we'll both go, before HE finishes with the wards." She quickly retrieved a robe and a few other items from her pack, and the three women walked into the large bathing chamber that was located just down the hallway.

Removing their clothes and setting them aside neatly, Sango and Kagome took turns washing each other's hair, although Matoko declined when it was offered, after a quick wash and rinse off, the three of them slid into the large wooden tub filled with steaming water.

"Aaahhh…this is heaven," Kagome sighed, as she let the heat soak in.

"Mmm-hmm," agreed Sango as she used her hands to swirl hot water through the tub.

They soaked there in silence for about ten minutes when Matoko spoke. "Do you really believe that you can defeat those horrible demons?"

"Hmmm?" murmured Sango, her eyes still closed. "Tomorrow? Oh sure, it'll be a fight, but I don't expect it to be a problem."

"Really, but…there are only four of you, well five if you count the little boy, but…?" Matoko asked fearfully.

"Six, counting Kirara." Kagome spoke up finally. "But, unless something goes horribly wrong, it really shouldn't be much trouble to defeat them."

"Really?" Matoko was clearly worried, but seem to be reassured by the confidence that Sango and Kagome displayed.

Sango laughed softly and said, "Really. I wouldn't want to face these youkai by myself, but with my friends I have no doubt that we will prevail."

"Ooooh, big words, Sango. Don't let Miroku hear you talk like that, or he might just lose all control around you." As Kagome spoke, her eyes were very big and round, miming shock, and she started to snicker.

Sango narrowed her eyes and glared at her friend, which only made Kagome laugh louder. Finally, Sango couldn't hold it in longer, and she started to giggle as well.

Matoko looked back and forth between the two laughing women, and finally she began to relax and smile as well.

"So, will you be coming back here after you find those demons, Sango-san?" Matoko asked as she rose from the tub and started to dry off.

"Very likely, we'll want to speak with your father before we leave, and he may want us to talk with some of the other merchants and traders. I hope so, anyways." Sango responded as she dried off as well.

"Oh, pooh. Now I have to get out too," Kagome mock-whined as she stepped out of the tub.

"Oh no, please stay as long as you like. I can have the maids bring more hot water if you like," Matoko offered quickly, worried that her high-ranking guest, however pleasant, might be offended.

Kagome laughed as she finished wrapping her hair in one of her towels, and donned the long robe she had brought with her. "No, I don't want Miroku to 'accidentally' walk in on me. We have to fight tomorrow, and too many bruises might slow him down." While speaking, she gathered up her clothes and toiletries into a bundle, and waited for Sango and Matoko to finish putting on their fresh yakutas.

Sango watched her and suddenly gasped. "Kagome, is that a KNIFE!" she asked in surprise.

"Hmm? Oh, yes it is. Inuyasha gave it to me while we were visiting my family. I told him I would keep it with me all the time, and well, I'm trying." Kagome explained.

"Inuyasha gave it to you?" she asked in amazement. "Did he say anything when he gave it to you? I mean, anything unusual?"

"Well, I'm not sure, he just said that he worried that he wouldn't be able to get to me in time to protect me, that's all," she said trying to recall exactly what he had said.

FLASHBACK

Before she could go on, Inuyasha interrupted and said, "Kagome, there's something else. Something else that I want to give to you. Please, don't cry, okay?" Reaching behind his back, he pulled out another knife, the same size as the one he had picked out for Shippo, but shaped differently. "Here. This is for you. I think you should have a blade of your own, for when you run out of arrows, or when the fight is too close." His face almost painfully serious, he went on, "I'll protect you, forever. You know that. But, sometimes I worry that I'll get there too late." He held the knife flat across both of his palms, and presented it to her.

FLASHBACK ENDS

Continuing, she said as she frowned, trying to remember his exact words, "He said he wanted me to have a blade of my own, in case I run out of arrows or when the fight is at close range, and that he would…" She broke off, blushing as she remembered his promise to protect her 'forever', which was just a little too private to share, at least with someone she had only met that day.

"He would, what Kagome?" Sango asked curious about her blush.

Kagome just shook her head, blushing even more."Never mind," she said, dropping her gaze to the knife in question.

Sango eyed her friend with lively interest, but decided to wait until they were alone together before asking any more questions.

The three young women walked back to the quarters assigned to Sango and Kagome, and Matoko bowed and left them there, saying that she would see them in the morning, before they departed.

Sango and Kagome entered, and headed to where they had placed their futons, and settled down for the night. Kagome put her toiletries back in her pack, hung the towel up to dry, and knelt down on her futon and began brushing out her damp hair. Shippo curled up in a nest of blankets next to her futon and quickly fell sound asleep.

Sango placed her weapons close at hand, rolled up in blankets and also fell asleep. Inuyasha watched patiently for a few minutes, then got up and put out most of the lamps, leaving only one near Kagome, and another next to the door still burning. Returning to his spot against the wall, he sat down and watched her slowly brush her hair.

Unlike the other times he had watched her brush her hair, this time her eyes were wide open, and she was watching him as she brushed her hair. She never spoke, but as he continued to watch her so intently, her eyes softened and a gentle smile appeared on her lips. Slowly and thoroughly, she ran the brush through her hair, holding her head to one side and then the other, as she used the brush to remove any tangles left from her bath, as well as to ensure it was completely dry. The entire time, her eyes never left his, just as his never left hers. Not a word was spoken, although much was said; questions, answers, statements and declarations; all said without a word.

Even when Miroku returned, they only looked at him for a moment, just long enough to watch him seek his own futon, and roll up in it for the night. Finally, her hair dry, Kagome put away her brush, removed her robe, and climbed into her sleeping bag, dressed in her long night gown. "Good night, Inuyasha," she whispered before she closed her eyes to sleep.

"Good night, Kagome," he whispered back, although it was much longer before he succumbed to sleep that night.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Author's Note:

Chapter 16 

The next morning saw the pack on the road very early, having eaten a simple breakfast; Inuyasha chivvied everyone out as soon as possible. Deciding to try for as much surprise as possible, they all rode on Kirara, until Kagome was sure that the nest was directly below them, inside a hill that looked out over a small river.

Looking over Kirara's side, with Inuyasha holding tightly on to her from behind, Kagome carefully searched the landscape far below, while Kirara slowly circled the hill. Again she closed her eyes and felt outward with her inner senses, searching for the Shikon shard and any strange youki. At last she opened her eyes, and relaxed back into Inuyasha's strong embrace as she sorted out her impressions and began to describe them to her friends.

"Okay, it definitely feels like a round dozen of the youkai and one of them definitely has a shard. They don't seem to be moving around, but they are awake, or at least aware. None of them seem to be too close to the surface, but not too far, either." Kagome paused, taking another long look at the ground below. "I think that the entrance to their den, or nest, is facing the river. Not sure exactly where, though."

Inuyasha smiled at her description, and squeezed her waist gently, "That's more than good enough, Kagome. Sango, have Kirara take us about halfway down, and approach from the river. I want to see if we can spot the entrance to their nest. It's probably hidden, but I bet it'll be easier to spot from the air than from the ground."

Sango nodded, and leaned forward to whisper in Kirara's ear; the two-tailed firecat immediate began to circle back towards the river, dropping lower as she flew. Approaching the area of the nest again, this time much lower, she flew slowly over the ground, allowing her rider's plenty of time to search for the entrance.

"There! To the left of that large, dark grey boulder. I think that's the entrance. It's covered by that rose bush." Shippo pointed to a faint shadow that was hidden by a large rose bush.

Peering intently at the spot he had pointed out, both Sango and Inuyasha nodded, and Inuyasha spoke first, "Good job, Shippo. Sango, bring us down about 50 paces away from the entrance, towards the river." Sango nodded and said only, "Right," as she guided Kirara to the spot Inuyasha had picked out for their landing.

Once on the ground, Kagome dropped her large pack, and notched an arrow to the string of her bow, and watched her friends prepare. Miroku slipped off to one side, and checked the ofuda's he had hidden in his sleeves, Sango hefted Hiraikotsu and prepared to throw, and Inuyasha started walking forward, his hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt, ready to draw. Shippo and Kagome stayed about ten steps behind the others, giving them plenty of room to fight, while still covering their backs.

When they were almost upon the entrance, Sango held out a small torch, and said quietly, "Shippo, light this please."

Shippo grinned and said softly but firmly, "Foxfire!" At his words, a small ball of flame shot from his fingers directly to Sango's torch, igniting it with a small 'WUFF"

Sango used the torch to light a small package that she took from a pouch on her leg, and throw it into the opening under the rose bush. It fell right into the center of the hole, and out of sight. Within a couple of minutes, they heard a distant screeching and hissing, that rapidly grew louder.

At last the first of the large serpent youkai appeared. Inuyasha crouched a little lower and cracked his knuckles warningly. "Wait," he said, as the first one spotted him and slid at him, fanged mouth gaping. Others appeared immediately behind the first and Inuyasha asked "Kagome, do you…?"

"No. It's still in the nest, none of these have a shard." She answered his question before he even finished it.

"Fine, than I won't even need Tetsusaiga for this." He leapt forward, snarling and Sango threw Hiraikotsu sharply, to one side of the approaching youkai. The first youkai reared up hissing, ready to strike, when Inuyasha removed its head with a lazy slash of his claws. Hiraikotsu whirled past, cutting another two serpents in half, before Sango caught it again. Miroku used his staff to knock the youkai facing him flat to the ground, before whirling his staff around and impaling the serpent's skull to the ground. The last two youkai in the open didn't last any longer than it took Inuyasha to reach them, slicing them to pieces as soon as he did.

Spinning around, he checked for any signs of youkai trying to sneak up on them, before he barked to Sango, "We need to drive the rest of them out in the open, I don't want to have to follow them into their nest if I can avoid it."

Sango nodded and pulled two more small packages out of her leg pouch, then walked back to pick up the torch she had dropped. She walked over to where Inuyasha was standing next to the entrance to the nest, and said, "Inuyasha, watch your nose, this stuff is pretty noxious."

Inuyasha nodded and shifted around until he was just upwind of the opening. Sango waited until he was clear, then lit both packages and threw them hard into the opening, trying to get them both as deep in as she could. Listening carefully, she smiled behind her filter mask as a loud hissing and screeching came once again from within the nest. She nodded and began backing carefully away from the entrance, never taking her eyes off of it.

Less than a minute later, a large, hot blast of flame came out of the opening, shielding the exit of a number of youkai. Sango and Inuyasha sprang into close action, he with his claws, she with Hiraikotsu, quickly dispatching the attacking youkai. As Inuyasha looked around for the one with one eye, the one that probably had the shard, he heard Kagome cry out, "Oh, no you don't!" Whirling back, afraid that it had managed to sneak past him to attack Kagome, he saw that instead of Kagome being attacked, she was aiming her arrow at a fleeing serpent. As he watched, she released the glowing blue arrow and it slashed a bright path that ended in the back of the serpent's neck, just behind the head. The serpent youkai convulsed once, than fell still as the holy arrow did its purifying work. Within seconds the entire youkai had disappeared, leaving only a glinting shard that fell to the ground with a sharp 'tink'.

Kagome walked over, a second arrow ready, just in case. Seeing no further danger, she replaced the arrow in her quiver and picked up the shard. As she did so, the dark, evil aura that infused the shard faded, to be replaced by a pure pink glow.

Turning back, she slipped the shard into the little vial she wore around her neck, to join the other shards they had already collected. "Well," she said brightly, "That's that. What's next? Back to the town, or off to Mushin's temple?"

Sango spoke up, looking curiously at the dark entrance to the youkai's nest. "I think we need to check out the nest, to make sure that nothing is left. Especially eggs." As she spoke, she knelt down next to the entrance and sniffed carefully. With a grimace, she backed up several paces quickly, and went on, "The poison I used to drive them out of the nest still lingers. We'll need to wait until it clears."

"And just how long is that going to take?" Inuyasha asked impatiently.

Sango shrugged and said, "An hour, perhaps two. It depends on how well the nest is ventilated."

Miroku nodded and walked over and knelt down in front of the entrance and held his hand out. Unwrapping the prayer beads that sealed his Kazanna, he opened and closed it several times, creating an artificial breeze that rapidly pulled the poison gas out of the tunnels, and into the void in his hand. After about five minutes of this, he got up and said, "There, I believe that the poison should be sufficiently cleared for us to enter…although," he paused and looked at Inuyasha and went on, "Perhaps, Inuyasha, you should remain outside, since your nose is far more sensitive than Lady Sango's or my own."

Inuyasha frowned and grimaced, but nodded at the truth of Miroku's statement. "Alright, the two of you check it out. But, be careful. Shatter any eggs that you find, and make sure there's nothing dangerous inside, than come straight back." He looked at them very seriously, "You got that? No screwing around down there, search it and come back."

Sango and Miroku both nodded their understanding, and Sango leaned Hiraikotsu against the nearby boulder before drawing her sword and picking up the torch. Miroku gripped his staff tightly and followed Sango into the dark hole. Before they had even gotten out of sight, Kagome had gasped and started pulling things out of her pack.

"Wait a minute, Miroku please use this." She ran up to the entrance and when he turned around she tossed him a small flashlight, already turned on. He caught it deftly, smiled his thanks and turned back into the darkness, shining the light ahead of the two of them as they started back down.

Kagome stood nervously next to Inuyasha waiting for Sango and Miroku to return. Finally, her fidgeting began to get on Inuyasha's nerves. "Would you calm down, wench! They'll be back when they're finished, alright?" he snapped.

"I'm worried, alright! It's been a long time, and I haven't heard a thing from them, and…" She shot back at him.

"Feh. They're fine, they didn't find any eggs or anything like that, just some stuff Miroku wanted to bring out, that's all," he sighed, "They've been talking the whole time, and nothing bad has happened."

Kagome stared at him in amazement, then blushed a very bright red, a blush that covered not only her cheeks, but her face and neck as well. She cleared her throat and said, "Sorry about that, I forgot about how well you can hear. Sorry"

Inuyasha looked at her blushing face, and wondered what caused her to blush so brightly, but decided that asking her about it would probably just get him sat. Multiple times. Instead, he just said, "Feh. They're on their way back up, and should be coming out any minute."

Kagome just nodded her head, and worked on controlling her blush, since she didn't want to listen to Miroku's clever quips at her and Inuyasha's expense.

By the time Sango and Miroku had returned, her blush was completely gone, and she was waiting patiently, more or less, by Inuyasha's side. Sango returned the flashlight to Kagome, with a smile and a quiet "Thank you" while Miroku lifted a heavy cloth bag out of the hole and up on to the ground.

"What's that Miroku?" she asked curiously.

"Well, it appears that these youkai were collecting treasure and money from their victims. I think that we can put this to good use," was his reply.

"Good use? Surely you don't mean we should keep it for our own use? It's not like it belongs to us, does it? It belongs to the families of their victims! We should return it to them, not keep it for ourselves! That's just not right," as she spoke, her voice became more and more impassioned.

Sango and Inuyasha exchanged amused glances, while Miroku stared at Kagome in disbelief. Finally he just sighed, and said, "Of course, Lady Kagome, we can take this back to town and have the headman and the local temple distribute this treasure to those in need." The expression on his face was a clear indication that he would have preferred to retain the treasure for their own use, but that he could not resist her appeal.

"Thanks, Miroku. That'd be great!" She enthused, turning back to Inuyasha, she said, "If there's nothing else we need to do here, I think we should head back now. And, if you don't mind, I'd like to walk, at least for a while. I want to enjoy the day, it's so nice!"

Inuyasha snorted, but shrugged and said, "For a while, anyways."

Kagome smiled happily at him and slung her bow and quiver over her shoulders, only to find that Inuyasha, once again had put on her pack, and was waiting for her to join him. Looking at her friends, all safe and unharmed, she felt a peace that she hadn't felt in long time, really not since she had first fallen through the well. _'I'm happy, truly happy,'_ she looked up at Inuyasha, walking next to her, _'Things have changed, and changed for the better, ever since he told me about our pack. I finally feel like I have a real place in his life, that I'm not just his 'shard detector'. Some of the things that he's said, and done, make me wonder if I ever was only that, and he just didn't want to admit it to himself. I'm happy, and I intend to enjoy it, even if it's just for a little while, before I think about Naraku, or the Jewel, or anything. This is my day, and I just want to spend it with my friends.'_

Miroku slung the pack of treasure on to his back and stepped up along side of Sango, matching her pace as she carried Kirara in her arms. Shippo jumped up onto Kagome's shoulder and the pack headed down towards the road that paralleled the river.

Inuyasha and Kagome walked in silence, neither feeling any need to speak, rather just enjoying the warm sunshine and fresh air. Eventually, they reached the river road, and turned onto it to follow it back to the town. After a while, Kagome noticed that Miroku and Sango were talking, and that Miroku hadn't been slapped even once. She snickered to herself, wondering if he was trying to figure out how being in a pack changed things between he and Sango, or if he was just tired.

Inuyasha looked at her and asked, "Something funny?"

She smiled at him, and said, "Just thinking about how knowing that we are a pack is already changing us, just a little. I think I like it."

He nodded back at her, then smiled, "I'm glad."

Kagome looked up at him, and eased a little closer to him before casually reaching out to hold his hand. When she did, he looked back at her, and then away, trying to hide the flush of pleasure that he got from holding her hand, from touching her in any way.

Miroku looked over at Sango and caught her eye, he nodded at the couple walking ahead of them once he had her attention. She smiled at them for a moment, then looked back at him, before giving him a small smile as well.

The small pack continued to walk down the river road for over an hour, without meeting another traveler, when Kagome started to get nervous, for no apparent reason.

"What's wrong, Kagome," Inuyasha asked, scenting her worry as they walked along the road.

"I'm not sure, but…" she paused, trying to isolate what was upsetting her. "Shards. Inuyasha, I can feel two shards coming this way, very fast! I think its Koga." Kagome came to a halt in the middle of the road, and her words as well as her actions warned the rest that something was up.

Looking around, Inuyasha quickly spotted Koga's trademark whirlwind, coming from downwind. _'Damn! I hate it when that wimpy wolf shows his face around…'_ "GRRRR" he growled at the very thought of Koga sniffing around Kagome, always talking like she was _his _mate.

To his surprise, Kagome moved even closer to him than she had already been, in fact, she moved over until her back was pressed directly against his chest, and he heard her mutter, very quietly, "Great, just great. Why does he always have to show when…" Kagome's soft mutter broke off when Koga slid to a stop in front of her.

"Kagome, I thought I caught your lovely scent, how has this mutt been treating you?" While he was speaking, he reached out for her hands, just like always. But this time, Kagome pulled Inuyasha's arm around her, like a shield, and she was holding on to him with both hands. Though surprised, Inuyasha didn't object, contenting himself with snarling silently at Koga.

"Umm, hello Koga, how have you been? Any luck tracking down Naraku?" Kagome hoped that this time, Koga could be sidetracked away from talking about his infatuation with her.

"Fine, Kagome. Unfortunately, I haven't had any luck catching Naraku's scent. He seems to be hiding it really well," he answered her questions, wondering why that stupid half-breed mutt was holding her like that, and why she seemed happy about. _'What's wrong with her? They're not mated are they?'_ Koga took a quick sniff, trying to reassure himself that she hadn't… "What the…what the hell have you done, you worthless half-breed! You can't be a pack leader!" By the time he had finished speaking, his voice had risen to a shout.

Unfortunately for Koga, he had managed to not only ruin Kagome's idyllic morning, he also pushed several of her 'hot buttons' one right after the other. Before he had even finished speaking, Shippo leapt from his mother's shoulder to the relative safety of Sango's arms and Inuyasha's snarl had turned into an expression of disbelief.

'_Oh, Koga, you screwed up this time. Count yourself lucky you don't have a necklace like mine; she'd sit you until you were buried. And it's not gonna be much better since she can't sit you. I knew you were stupid, but this…!'_ Inuyasha thought to himself in disbelief.

Sango and Miroku exchanged identical looks of 'Uh Oh!' before they turned back to watch the fun with grins on their faces.

Gripping Inuyasha's arm tightly to prevent herself from losing her temper completely, Kagome spoke through tightly clenched teeth. "Koga. We've know each other for quite a while now, and usually I try keep the violence and bloodshed to a minimum, but… Where do you get off speaking to **_ANYONE!_** like that! Calling ANYONE! a dirty, half-breed mutt! How dare you! How dare you speak to my friends in such a rude, disrespectful way. I don't care who you think you are, pack leader or pup, no one speaks that like that to my friends, far less my pack mates or my pack leader!" Taking in a deep breath, she tried to control the rage that boiled just under the surface.

"Koga, I think that you need to leave. Right now. And I think that until you can speak to me and mine, with courtesy at least, if not respect, I do not wish to see you. Do you understand?"

Stunned by her rage and by her words, Koga stammered "B-But…Kagome, he…"

"_**Do you understand?"**_

He cringed. There was no other way to describe it. Koga, the wild leader of the Eastern Cave wolf-youkai pack…cringed. He backed away, stammering that, yes, he understood, and… Finally, he just looked at her as if he was afraid she was going to leap at him and rip his throat out with her teeth and spun away in his trademark whirlwind.

"The nerve of him, how dare he! I can't believe he said that." Kagome continued to rant, even after Koga had fled, much to the amusement of the other members of her pack. Especially Inuyasha, who had enjoyed seeing someone else, especially that damned wolf, finally getting the hot side of Kagome's temper. After letting Kagome vent some of her rage for a few minutes, Inuyasha decided to take a chance and see if she was calm enough to continue on their way.

"Kagome, are you ready to go now?" He asked quietly, still holding her close. When she didn't respond to his question, he sighed and lowered his head until his chin rested on top of her head and began very quietly purring. If he remembered what his mother had told him correctly, she said that it felt nice, but it made it hard to think. He hoped that it would work to calm Kagome down without focusing her anger on him. As he had hoped, she began to relax after only a few minutes, and she finally stopped muttering and sighed softly.

"Sorry about that. It's just that, when he started talking about you like that, I kinda lost it." As she remembered what she had said, and more importantly, how she had said it, she turned pink. "I really don't know what came over me, I just…" she trailed off, not quite sure what she wanted to say.

Inuyasha started to speak, "It's okay, Kagome. To be honest, I was just glad it was him, and not me."

To his surprise, Myoga, who had been silent for most of the day, spoke up. "Lady Kagome, your response to Koga's remarks, while extreme, is not really surprising. No lead female would ever tolerate an outsider addressing a pack member so disrespectfully. Although I would not have expected a human to respond in this manner, it is instinctive with inu-youkai, and clearly Lord Inuyasha's instincts are beginning to be passed on to you, and probably the other members of our pack.

He paused and cleared his throat before continuing. "Perhaps it is because Lord Inuyasha has such strong bloodlines from both his youkai and human parents that his instincts are being shared, perhaps it would happen with any mixed pack. I simply don't know."

Kagome bit her lip, then asked, "So, what other instincts can I expect to feel, or develop? I hate it when I lose my temper like that. I hope that it's not going to become a habit or something."

Myoga sighed, "I wish I had a simple answer for you, My Lady, but I just don't know. This is a totally new occurrence. Although, if you will forgive me, I don't think that your new instincts had anything to do with how you responded to Koga's insolence, other than making him the focus of your wrath. Your temper is, well, you can be rather intimidating when you lose your temper."

Inuyasha snorted. "Keh. I'd rather fight my brother than face Kagome's temper, although, today was pretty…" He broke off, not sure he wanted to complete that sentence. As he held her, he sniffed her hair and neck softly. _'No wonder she blew up like that, she's about finished with her heat. Now I know Koga is an idiot. He should have scented the change and kept his distance. Oh well, that's his problem, not mine. Mine is to make sure she gets something to eat and plenty of sleep for the next few days, otherwise she's gonna make my life hell.'_

"Well, not to change the subject or anything, I think it's about time to eat. Why don't we stop here, have a hot meal and then head back to town?" As he asked, he kept holding Kagome, but looked at Sango and Miroku.

Sango nodded and said, "Excellent idea, I'll start a fire and start some water boiling."

Miroku took Kagome's pack from Inuyasha and handed the plastic bucket to Shippo. "Here you go Shippo, can you run down to the river and bring back some water while I get the fire wood, or would you like to gather fire wood?"

"Water! I'll be right back." With those words, Shippo ran off to the edge of the river, filled the bucket and walked back, struggling to keep it from dragging on the ground, but carrying it nonetheless.

Miroku headed into the nearby woods, picking up wood as he walked while Sango quickly dug a small fire pit and lined it with stones. By the time Shippo had returned with the water, Miroku had brought an armload of wood and stacked it up, ready to be lit.

Kagome had recovered enough by this time to help Sango with lunch, and between the two of them, prepared a simple stew, with fresh bread to go with it. While it was heating up, Kagome made a container of lemonade from premixed powder.

The simple routine of preparing a meal, then eating it helped Kagome completely relax, so that when Inuyasha mentioned that he wanted to return to town faster than walking, she was agreeable and asked if she could ride on Inuyasha's back.

Inuyasha paused at her request, than said, "Alright, as soon as we finish cleaning up from lunch we'll head back to town. We may or may not spend the night, because I do want to get to Mushin's temple. He may be a drunk, but he could be a big help, if he knows as many people as Miroku claims."

While they finished their lunch, Kagome pulled Shippo aside and discussed some of the training that he had been doing with Myoga. When he mentioned healing, Kagome was intrigued.

"So, Myoga thinks that you can use your foxfire to heal with? Did he explain how, or did he just tell you to 'figure it out'?" She asked the little boy.

"Oh no, well, he didn't really know **_how_** it was done, but he thought that if I practiced with small cuts, I could learn to do it, myself." Shippo laughed, "I guess he did tell me to 'figure it out' didn't he?"

Kagome laughed along with him, but said, "Well, if it helps, I've healed a couple of times, even if I didn't really know what I was doing. Let me get my first aid kit out first, cause I think we'll need it for a while. Then I'll show you what I did, and tell you what it felt like. Then you can try it with your foxfire, okay?"

"That would be great, Kagome!" he said eagerly.

Kagome removed her first aid kit from her backpack, and set it down on the ground next to her. Reaching behind her back, she carefully drew her knife from its sheath, to the immense surprise of everyone except Sango, and the great pleasure of Inuyasha.

"Alright, I'm going to make a short cut on my arm," as she spoke, she carefully drew the point of her knife down the back of her left forearm. "There. Now when I healed before, my power came up into my hands," placing the knife aside, she raised her right hand and closed her eyes, **_feeling_** her miko power filling her hand, "then, I simply **_wished_** to have the injury healed. I sort of imagined the wound closing up and disappearing." Taking a deep breath, she pressed her glowing right hand on top of the bleeding cut. "Like this." Pressing down hard on the cut, she concentrated on the image of the cut closing up, like a zipper, and then disappearing. After about thirty seconds, she lifted her hand and let her power withdraw inside again. When she looked at her arm, she saw to her pleased surprise, that the cut had completely disappeared, and the only sign of her injury was the smeared blood on her skin and hand. She silently showed it to Shippo, then took an alcohol wipe and cleaned both her hand and arm of blood.

"Now, Shippo. Would you like to try it?" she asked him.

He shook his head eagerly, "Yes, I would. I'm to call up my foxfire, imagining that it can't hurt, than when I press down on the cut, I'm to see, inside my head, the cut close up and than disappear, right?" he asked carefully.

"That's correct. Do you want to cut yourself, or shall I?" Kagome offered.

"No, I'll do it. I think that's the best way." Shippo said, as he took his tiny dagger from inside his vest, rolled up his sleeve and made a tiny cut, which welled up with blood immediately. Putting his knife down, he mimicked his mother exactly. Summoning his foxfire around his hand, he closed his eyes and pressed his flaming hand to his arm firmly for thirty seconds. When he pulled his hand away, he kept his eyes closed until he heard the gasps of those who had been watching.

"Amazing. Lady Kagome, I don't think I've ever seen spiritual healing done so… dramatically," Miroku commented from across the fire. "Certainly, not by two so young. The only times I've seen that done, the practitioners were quite old, and had been studying for many years.

Myoga agreed. "Only a very few healers have every been able to do that without a great deal of training. I'm quite impressed."

Kagome agreed as she used a fresh alcohol wipe to clean the blood off of Shippo. "That was outstanding Shippo! I'm very proud of you. You listened carefully and did exactly what you were told."

Shippo beamed at the praise he was receiving and after everything was cleaned up and put away, he climbed up onto her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Kagome, may I, would you mind if I called you 'Okaa-san' sometimes?" His voice was very soft, and free of any of his usual wheedling.

Kagome turned her head to look at him than gave him a hug, "Of course you can, anytime you wish. After all, now that we're a pack, I am your mother; in every way that matters, you are my son." At her words, finally saying out loud that which had been only silently acknowledged, they both began crying softly.

Inuyasha looked at them sitting there, crying together, with big smiles on their faces. He shook his head, but refrained from saying anything, simply making sure that everything was repacked in Kagome's backpack. When everything was ready to go he walked over and knelt down in front of her. "Hey. It's time to go." He caught Shippo's eye and asked, "Do you want to ride with Kagome and I or keep Sango and Miroku company?"

Shippo thought about it for a minute, then said very seriously, "I need to talk to Myoga some more about using my magic. I'd like to do that this afternoon, if that's alright, okaa-san?"

Kagome smiled at his calling her 'mother' and said, "Of course. I'll see you when we get to the town."

Within minutes, the pack was on the move again, this time much faster. With Kagome on his back, and the others riding Kirara, they reached the town in less than an hour. Once again, they chose to walk into town, rather than upsetting anyone with displays of flying or extreme agility.

When they reached the town gate, this time they were welcomed eagerly, especially when Sango informed them that the nest of youkai had been exterminated. As they walked through the streets, the sounds of celebration began rising behind and around them as the news spread.

"Well, they sound pretty pleased with the news, don't they Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, listening to the sounds of joy.

"Keh. I'm glad we got another shard, and that no one was hurt."

"Me, too." Smiling at the town folk who waved to them and greeted them so happily, Kagome was actually looking forward to some peace and quiet inside the headman's home.

In very little time, they reached his home and left the rising sounds of celebration behind. Matoko met them at the door and led them to the same room that they had dined in the night before.

"My father will be here in just a moment, he is meeting with the high priest and the senior monk from the temple. Please, refreshments will be brought momentarily, so please be seated and relax." Matoko was a bit ruffled today, obviously happy to see them alive and well, and equally happy about the success of their mission.

Sango nodded to her and drew her aside to speak with her before her father arrived. The others took their seats on cushions placed around the table. Rather than sitting at one end, Inuyasha and Kagome sat in the center of the long side, facing the door, with their backs to the wall. Seeing where they had seated themselves, the others ranged themselves along the same side of the table, just before the headman and several others entered.

After bowing, everyone took their seats and the meeting began.

"First, allow me to offer you our heartfelt thanks, because of your efforts we are finally free from the depredations of those horrible demons. I see that no one was lost, but is it possible that no one suffered serious injuries?" Matushina-san was the first to speak, and he tried to see if anyone showed signs of minor injuries, but none were visible.

Inuyasha simply snorted, although Miroku was the one to speak. "Set your mind at ease, none of us were injured in any way. The serpent-youkai nest was completely exterminated. We found no fresh eggs, and no sign of any young."

Matushina-san smiled at that and said, "That's wonderful. Now, I've spoken with the senior captain of our fishing fleet, as well as one of the two captains of trading vessels that sail from here," he nodded to the two men sitting to his left, "and the high priest of our local temple and the merchant who handles almost all of our trade in preserved fish," here he nodded to the two men to his right, one dressed in priestly robes, and the other in a rich kimono.

"They have all agreed to pass the word among their people to look for any signs of newly powerful demons and humans who have become, as you put it, magically powerful recently. I brought them here so that they could hear directly from you, what signs they should look for. So, would you please describe these signs to them."\

Miroku looked at Inuyasha quickly, and went on as soon as he nodded back at him. "Certainly. First, when we speak of 'recently' we are concerned with the last year or year and a half. If their power increase dates from much before than, it is unlikely to be of grave concern to our mission. Second, any rumors about 'Shards', 'Jewel Shards', 'Sacred Shards', or the 'Shikon no Tama' are very important." Miroku paused, and studied the faces of the men sitting across from him, the only one who seemed to react to his words was the high priest. "Have any of you heard anything about such matters already?" he queried.

The all shook their heads no, except the priest who nodded slowly. "Yes, I know of the Shikon no Tama. It was said to have disappeared over 50 years ago. Recently I have heard that has returned, but it was only a rumor, with no details."

Miroku nodded gravely, "The rumors are true. The Shikon no Tama has returned, but it is not intact. It was shattered into hundreds of shards, and scattered across the land."

The priest frowned at him, than transferred his frown to the others as well, "And you are seeking these shards? By what right do you strive for this? It is a very holy relic, and should be in the care of those who are trained for such work. Not, forgive me for saying this, but not a mismatched group of adventurers and demons."

At the priest's words, silence fell in the room. Kagome reached out and grabbed Inuyasha's arm, and even before he could begin to growl, she silenced him with a shake of her head.

"Sir, we are very well aware of what the Shikon no Tama is, and the grave risks that face everyone if it falls intact into the hands of those with evil intent. We seek not only to gather the shards from where they have fallen, but also to retrieve them from those who wish to use them for evil goals. As for what right we have to do this…The Shikon no Tama is mine to protect, mine to purify, and mine to chose who might use it. This right, this mission was given to me by fate, by karma. I will not turn away from it." Kagome spoke to the priest clearly and calmly, but with more than a hint of steel in her voice.

He looked back at her, clearly unhappy with the thought of so precious a holy item being claimed by a young girl, especially one who dressed so immodestly. Still, they had destroyed the nest of demons…or had they? _'They claim to have destroyed them, but no one witnessed it, perhaps this is an elaborate hoax? But, do I want to accuse them outright? Perhaps I should investigate their claims. If it is as close as claimed, a good rider could go there and back before nightfall. Yes, that is the best course.'_

The priest frowned, then spoke, "I see. Well, if indeed you have cleaned out that nest of demons, I will be more than happy to comply with the headman's request, and gather the information you seek to be passed on to you in turn. Still, I do have concerns, grave concerns that one so young as yourself should try to purify the Shikon no Tama. The jewel is very powerful, and is very susceptible to evil influences. One so young cannot hope to counteract these influences…"

As he spoke, the looks on the faces across the table ranged from irritation to amusement, with the young woman he was speaking to showing the most amusement. When she pulled a small vial from inside her shirt, he broke off as he saw the powerful spiritual aura of the jewel fragments inside. She opened the vial and shook one fragment onto her palm, before replacing the top and tucking it back inside her shirt.

"Do you recognize this, priest?" she asked him.

His face pale, he nodded.

"Would you like to hold it in your hand, just for a moment?"

His brow furrowed for a moment, then cleared. "No, thank you. I can feel it from here, and indeed, you have purified it perfectly. I am afraid that my touching it might undo all of your efforts." He smiled at her, more relaxed than he had been during the first part of the meeting, and went on. "I am only human, after all, and all too prone to error."

Kagome just smiled back and returned the shard to its resting place with the others.

Miroku spoke up again, saying, "There is something else, as well. When we searched their nest for any eggs or survivors, we found this." He picked up the bag resting on the floor and placed it on the table, then pushed in front of the headman. "I believe that this was taken from their victims. We would like to see it either returned to the survivors, if any, or used to restore some of the damage that the youkai caused."

The headman opened the bag cautiously, not quite sure what he would find. Once open, he froze, stunned by the quantity of money, jewelry, and other items of treasure that he saw.

"This, this is most generous! There are indeed some survivors, for whom this money will make a great difference. Thank you." He and his companions bowed very low from their seats.

Miroku and the others bowed in return, before returning to the business of arranging for the collecting and passing on of information to the pack. Miroku explained that they were often traveling, and that if possible, it should be sent to both Kaede's village as well as to Mushin's temple.

The headman offered the hospitality of his home, for as long as desired, but Inuyasha made it quite clear that they needed to continue their journey immediately, and that if they hoped to reach Mushin's temple before sunset, they needed to leave soon.

Matushina-san agreed with their wishes, but asked that they delay their departure long enough for his daughter to prepare some food for their journey.

"Please allow us to provide you with at least your next meal, I beg you. We owe so much more than we can ever repay, so please, allow us this small token."

Inuyasha nodded and said, "Alright, but we really do need to get going, so if you don't mind, could she make it quick?" Although Kagome gave him a dirty look for his rudeness, the headman took no offense, but rather smiled and escorted them out of his house and all the way to the gates, where Matoko and two others caught up with them, out of breath from their run while carrying baskets of food for their guests.

"Father, I hope we're not too late!" Matoko gasped as she arrived at the town gate. Seeing Sango and the others waiting just outside, she sighed and said, "Oh good, you haven't left yet. Please," she offered the baskets to Sango and Kagome, "Take these for your dinner. I hope that you enjoy it!" She gave Sango a quick hug and then stepped back to her father's side.

With a final round of farewells, Kirara transformed into her larger form, everyone except Inuyasha and Kagome climbed on. Kagome climbed onto Inuyasha's back and waved goodbye as he leapt for the trees lining the road. Kirara ran up into the sky, and the townsfolk waved and cheered as they disappeared from view.

Matushina-san turned to his daughter and asked, "Did you put the pouches into each basket, daughter?"

"Yes, father. They'll find them when they open them for dinner tonight." She replied.

"Good. They deserve more, but it least I can justify giving them that much because that is the amount we promised to anyone who rid us of that nest of demons." He shrugged uncomfortably at the thought of trying to convince Inuyasha to accept the reward, and was quite pleased to have the opportunity to avoid the argument.

"Well, they're gone for now, and I wish them well in their search. Let's get back home and start using the treasure they gave us to repair some of the damage of the last year, eh?"

Matoko nodded and together they walked back through the gates, and back to their own home.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Author's Note: Thanks very much for all of the reviews. Between and I've received over 65 reviews. Unfortunately, I've just about caught up to myself, so I have to buckle down and finish some more chapters. I have them plotted out for some time to come, all I need to do is **_finish writing them!_** I intend to update at least once a week, but I seem to write in a 'binge and purge' fashion…I will write 5 or 6 chapters and then go back and re-read them and edit them.

Chapter 17 

As Kirara circled around Mushin's temple, Inuyasha leaped down from the trees at the edge of the temple grounds. He loped toward the temple, stopping to let Kagome down only when he reached the round crater created when Miroku's father had been sucked into the Kazaana in his hand. Stretching the kinks out of her muscles, she walked toward the temple with Inuyasha and watched Kirara and the others land right in front.

As they joined up, Mushin, Miroku's foster-father walked out of the temple and shouted out to Miroku. "Ha ha, it's been a while, you young rascal. What brings you here at last?"

Miroku smiled at him and replied, "We want to ask you to do us a favor."

"A favor, is it? Did you injure your Kazaana again?" He asked as he walked up and hugged Miroku.

"No, nothing like that. Instead, if you could invite us in, we'll feed you some dinner and discuss it then." As he finished speaking, Mushin nodded and gestured for them to follow him inside. He led them into a covered walkway and around a small courtyard until he opened a shoji that led to a dining room.

Inside a young boy, perhaps eight years old, was sweeping the floor, but he jumped and looked up as they entered. "Master Mushin! What can I do for you? I'm not yet finished here, but I…Oh, I'm sorry I didn't notice your guests. Let me fetch tea." The boy dropped his broom and bowed nervously before running out of the room.

Mushin shook his head and said, "Sato is my new novice, and gets very nervous around strangers. Please forgive him, and take your seats."

They placed their packs down against the wall, though Sango brought the baskets with food to the table when she sat down. As they all sat down, the young boy returned with another boy, who appeared to be a year or two older, bringing a large pot of tea and a tray of cups.

"Ah, excellent. Please set them down here, then find Kito and have him assign you new chores until dinner." As they bowed, he waved his hand in dismissal, before turning back to his guests. "Well, Miroku, I believe you mentioned dinner? Why don't we eat and you tell me what you need, eh?"

Sango hid a smile as she opened the first basket and began passing out pastries filled with fish and vegetables, while Miroku began filling cups with tea and passing them around the table. Kagome pulled one of the other baskets in front of herself and opened it to see what she could pass out, choosing to add cheese to the menu instead of more bread, she removed two small wheels of cheese and started to put the basket aside when she noticed a small embroidered pouch in basket. Removing it, she raised her eyebrows when she noticed how heavy it was. Opening it up, she whistled at the contents.

"Wheeee! Inuyasha, I think that something fell into this basket by mistake. Take a look." She handed the pouch to him and watched his expression as he looked at collection of gold and silver coins.

"What the hell is this? I didn't ask for any money! Grrrrr." He frowned at the sight of the money. He didn't even notice as the growl slid out.

Sango looked over at Kagome and Inuyasha and looked again into the basket she had opened. After a quick look, she found a similar pouch, also filled with gold and silver coins. Closing it back up, she tossed it to Kagome, before searching for and finding a third pouch in the last basket. When she tossed that to Kagome as well, Kagome sighed and said, "I don't think this was a mistake. It's intentional." She looked at Inuyasha and said, "I bet they had posted a reward or something, and rather than argue about it, just slipped it into the food baskets."

Miroku asked, "Lady Kagome, may I see…?" He held his hand out to her and she tossed one of the pouches to him. He opened it up and poured the contents out on to the table top. "Hmm, if the others hold as much as this one, I'm impressed. It's a very decent reward. Nothing compared to what we returned to them, but still a decent reward."

Miroku returned the coins to the pouch, and then looked at Inuyasha. "I think that we could put this reward to good use right here, Inuyasha. Already, the headman and his friends have agreed to look for rumors and signs for us, and send the information here and to Kaede's village, and…" he looked at his foster father very seriously, "if you would help us, it would be a great favor."

"A favor, my son? And what favor could I do for you?" The old monk asked curiously.

"You know that we are searching for Naraku, but we are also seeking the shards of the Shikon no Tama. Unfortunately, Naraku has acquired most of the Jewel, so it is a race to find the remaining shards." Miroku sighed and went on, "If you could ask any of your many friends to look and listen for any signs of the shards or Naraku, and then pass the information on to us, it could greatly aid our task."

"I see. And you have others also searching for you? And they will be sending any reports here, correct?" The old monk chuckled, "Well, I will write to as many abbots as I know, asking for their help. Although," he grinned at Inuyasha, "I don't think I'll tell them that an Inuhanyou will be using their information."

At this, the room filled with laughter and chuckles, and even Inuyasha snorted and tried to hide a smile. As the laughter died down, Miroku slid the pouch he held across the table to Mushin's seat. "Here, use this to pay for couriers if you need to. If it runs out, let us know and we'll try to get you some more."

Mushin tossed the pouch lightly in his hand, then said, "This will do quite nicely. Most monasteries have novices who are well used to acting as couriers. Some of them even have horses and trained riders. In addition, there are a number of wandering monks who stop here for the night, I'll speak to them as well, and have them pass the word to others on the road."

With that the discussion shifted to recounting their recent adventures, descriptions of the types of rumors that might be most useful, and their intentions for the next few days. Finally, after consuming much of the contents of the baskets, they called a halt to the meeting and retired to their quarters for the night.

Although they were offered individual rooms, they declined and chose instead a larger room that they could all sleep in together. Planning for an early start, they quickly fell asleep.

Rising at dawn, Miroku and Shippo raided the monastery's kitchen for some fresh baked bread and fruit, before waking the others for breakfast.

"Hey, Kagome, wake up! It's time to eat." Shippo said as he sat on his mother's stomach.

"Huh? What time is it?" She opened her eyes and looked at Shippo's cheerful face. Turning her head, she looked at the window on the wall, then groaned as she realized how early it was. "Alright, I'm up already." Lifting Shippo off of her tummy, she sat up and rubbed her eyes before standing up. As she rolled up her sleeping bag, she gave Miroku a dirty look as he went around waking everyone up, being sure to be extra cheerful and loud.

It was only as she accepted a small loaf of bread and some plums from Shippo that she realized that Inuyasha wasn't in the room. Searching for him with her inner sense, she found him above her, and about 20 yards away.

Pursing her lips, she whistled sharply and then called out "Hey, get down here and eat some breakfast, before we throw it away!"

Sango gave her a questioning look, to which Kagome replied "Inuyasha's on the roof, and I don't want him to miss breakfast."

"On the roof? How do you know that he is on the roof, Kagome?" Sango asked curiously.

"Well, for one thing, he likes to be up high when the sun comes up, and for another, I can feel him about 20 yards away. Oh good, he's coming," Kagome said to her friend. Even as she spoke, Inuyasha slipped through the open window and landed on his feet next to where Miroku was repacking his small pack.

"Here you go, have some breakfast," Kagome said as she handed the hanyou some fruit.

"Feh" Inuyasha said as he accepted the fruit.

Kagome just smiled and handed him a half loaf of bread before returning to pack up.

Within only a few minutes, everyone had finished eating and was ready to leave. As they left the monastery gates Miroku exchanged a few last words with his foster-father in private before joining up with them.

As Kirara had carried them quite a bit over the last few days, it was decided that they would walk for the next day or two. Shippo spent much of the morning scouting ahead and running back every few minutes to report on what he had found ahead. The main advantage of this was that Shippo wasn't trying to get on Inuyasha's nerves, although his repeated interruptions did become annoying. However, by midday, he had worn himself out enough that Kagome picked him up and started carrying him. As soon as she did, he fell asleep in her arms.

"Peace and quiet at last," Miroku said to Sango.

She smiled at his jest, but kept looking at the surrounding trees, looking for any signs of danger. In spite of her vigilance, she was still taken by surprise when the attack came.

The first sign of the attack was a ball of fire that hit Inuyasha square in the chest. The red-orange ball of fire engulfed his torso and streamers of flame shot away from the point of impact. Because she was carrying Shippo, Kagome had fallen a few steps behind him, which shielded her from the direct blast of flame.

"Arrrggh!" Inuyasha bellowed in surprise. Pulling Tetsusaiga, he blocked the next two attacks, deflecting the fireballs into the surrounding forest. Appearing before them were two youkai floating in midair, wreathed in flames.

"Die you filthy half-breed!" one of them said as he continued to send fireballs at Inuyasha. The other one flew off to one side, but before he could attack, Sango hurled Hiraikotsu at him, forcing him to dodge out of the way. On its return, Hiraikotsu clipped the first youkai hard enough to knock him to the ground before returning to Sango's hand.

Inuyasha leapt forward, but before he reached his target, the air was filled with the sound of Kagome's voice crying out the word "SIT" from dozens of locations.

WHAMM! Inuyasha was slammed to the ground, Tetsusaiga flying out of his hand as the magic of the prayer necklace activated again and again, each time driving him further into the ground.

"NOOOOO!" Kagome screamed as she saw her friend hammered down helplessly. Dropping Shippo, she ran towards Inuyasha, seeing for the first time a small flock of birds, each the size of a large hawk, each and every one of them continually crying out the word SIT, over and over again, all in her voice.

As she ran, she drew her bow from over her shoulder, notched an arrow and fired it at one of the birds. When it hit, the bird simply exploded, knocking several of the other birds to the ground where they lay stunned or dead. As she approached Inuyasha's prone body, she was attacked by dozens of the birds, each trying to prevent her from reaching him. They hammered at her with their wings and tried to grab her with their talons, but she used her bow like a baseball bat and swung it around, driving the birds back, though only for a moment.

Reaching his side, Kagome dropped to her knees and grabbed the beaded necklace and tore it from around Inuyasha's neck. Unfortunately, doing so left her open to the birds' attack, and they wasted no time taking advantage of it. Even as she broke the necklace, the first of the birds struck her from behind, driving her down on top of Inuyasha and tearing her open with its beak and talons. Before Miroku could come to her aid and drive them off of her, she had been attacked by so many of the vicious birds that her body was completely covered by them. Using his staff, Miroku drove off or killed all of the birds that had attacked Kagome, but not before they had injured the young miko very badly.

As she lay on top of Inuyasha, unconscious from her injuries, Kagome's blood spilled down over the stunned hanyou. Inuyasha lay there, trying to recover from the multitude of unexpected SIT's, when he felt something soft and warm flowing over his face and neck. Struggling to rise, he inhaled the scent of fresh spilled blood and realized to his horror that it was Kagome's. As he pushed himself up, fighting the last remnants of the spell, he instinctively tasted the blood that covered his lips and froze at the knowledge that the blood flowing so freely over his body was hers. Kagome's.

Miroku stepped over the bodies of his friends and faced the fire demon on the ground. Unwrapping the prayer beads from around his right hand, he cried "Kazaana!" The youkai facing him gasped in fear as the winds began to draw him closer and closer to his doom.

"NOOO! This cannot be!" he screamed, casting fireballs as rapidly as he could at the monk. No matter where they were aimed, each of the fireballs was simply sucked into the void in the palm of Miroku's hand, leaving the youkai to be slowly dragged forward. Just when it looked like all was lost, a large object smashed to the ground in front of Miroku, releasing…

"Saimyoshou!" Sealing his Kazaana, Miroku used his staff to press his attack against the fire youkai while searching for the one he knew had to be present. "Sango, watch out for Naraku! I can feel his aura somewhere nearby," he called out even as he parried fireballs and struck the youkai with his staff.

Behind him, Shippo crouched next to Kagome and Inuyasha, using his foxfire to drive the birds back away from his friends. "Inuyasha, are you okay? Can you get up yet, we need you! Please, get up, Inuyasha!" As he spoke, Inuyasha began growling, louder and louder, until he raised his eyes and Shippo saw them…pure red, with blue pupils. _'Noooo! He's transformed again! He must have dropped Tetsusaiga.'_ "I-Inuyasha?" Shippo asked in a frightened voice, "Are you okay?"

The full youkai Inuyasha looked at Shippo, then down at Kagome and his growls became a scream of rage as he leaped over Miroku's head and landed on the fire youkai, claws slashing and tearing. In a matter of seconds the youkai was dismembered and Inuyasha was looking for his next…prey.

Sango was fully occupied with the second youkai. She had been forced back on the defensive, using Hiraikotsu to block and deflect the fireballs that the flying youkai sent at her so rapidly. Kirara tried to attack the fire youkai, but he was too agile, and avoided her attacks easily, while keeping the pressure on the taijiya down on the ground. Unfortunately for him, all of his agility and speed meant nothing to the bolt of red and silver that smashed into him from below. By the time they hit the ground, the fire youkai had been decapitated and disemboweled.

"How nice. Poor Inuyasha, now only a mindless killing beast, unable to tell friend from foe. Perhaps I should simply depart and let him…play for a while. Heh, heh, heh." Naraku, even covered with his baboon cloak, was unmistakable. His form suddenly spewed out the poisonous miasma, covering his escape…or so he thought.

Inuyasha sped through the miasma as if it wasn't even there, reaching Naraku in seconds and shredding the baboon cloak and the flesh hidden beneath it as if it were no more than paper. As he slashed and ripped at Naraku, the miasma roiled and pulsed as if it were alive, until it suddenly dissipated; leaving Inuyasha crouched over the tattered remains of a baboon fur cloak and a small wooden doll, wrapped with a strand of black hair.

Both Miroku and Sango watched, frozen in shock at the speed with which Inuyasha had slaughtered his foes, and waited to see what he would do next. Miroku readied several binding ofuda, hoping that if he had to use them, they would be strong enough to hold him in his full youkai form. Sango held Hiraikotsu on her shoulder, ready to fight if necessary, even as she prayed that Inuyasha would calm down and revert on his own.

While Inuyasha had been taking care of their attackers, Shippo had driven off the birds that had been attacking Kagome and begun to cover her wounds with some of the bandages from her first aid kit. He was so focused on his efforts to treat his 'mothers' injuries that he didn't notice Inuyasha until he was picked up by his tail and held up in front of the hanyou's, no the **_youkai's_** eyes.

"Eeeep!" Shippo squeaked as he stared into Inuyasha's scarlet orbs. Inuyasha pulled Shippo close and sniffed at him several times, then dropped him to the ground. Shippo landed on his feet and stared up at Inuyasha in shock as the once-hanyou, now full-youkai, sat down next to Kagome and gently pulled her into his lap.

To everyone's amazement, Inuyasha seemed to be completely calm, as he ignored everything except Kagome. He closely examined her injuries, and then began carefully and thoroughly cleaning them with his tongue. As he gently laved her wounds, his saliva stopped the bleeding and removed any trace of poison or infection. He started with the worst injuries, the ones on her back, and as he finished with those, he removed her shredded clothing to treat the other, lesser wounds. Once finished with her back, he went on to treat the cuts on her face and neck, as well as those on her arms and legs. While he was taking care of Kagome, Shippo crept up along side of Inuyasha and whimpered softly as he saw the full extent of her injuries.

"K-Kagome? Please be okay, please," the little kitsune whispered, "I'll be good, I promise, just be okay!" As he spoke, tears ran down his cheeks and dripped onto his vest. As the scent of his tears reached Inuyasha, he stopped and looked down at Shippo with a frown.

"Grrr, hrrrf arrrhff" was what Inuyasha said, or rather barked at the little boy. Shippo flinched and whined softly, then rubbed his head against Kagome's leg while Inuyasha went back to treating her wounds.

Miroku and Sango exchanged shocked looks at what could only be Inuyasha, the mindless full-youkai Inuyasha, treating **_Shippo!_** kindly; well at least relatively so.

"Houshi-sama, should we try to give Tetsusaiga to Inuyasha now, or wait for him to revert on his own?" Sango asked as she watched Inuyasha caring for Kagome.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. Let's wait for now and see what happens. Perhaps he'll revert or maybe Shippo can give Tetsusaiga to him, Inuyasha seems to not consider him a threat, so maybe he can bring him back." Miroku said thoughtfully.

Sango nodded and went over to Kagome's backpack and pulled out her sleeping bag and some clean clothing for whenever Inuyasha was willing to release Kagome. She handed the sleeping bag to Miroku and said, "Would you please set this up under that tree please? It's well sheltered and it looks like the type of tree that Inuyasha would like to sleep in."

"Of course, Lady Sango, that's an excellent idea," he replied as he took the sleeping bag and walked towards the tree. As he neared Inuyasha and Kagome, Inuyasha looked up at him and snarled loudly. Miroku paused, then carefully stepped back away from his friends, and then continued to the tree taking a wide detour around them. After laying out the sleeping bag, he walked back to Sango's side, again taking a wide detour around Kagome and Inuyasha.

"What was that all about, I wonder?" Miroku asked Sango. "He doesn't seem to mind Shippo being close, does he?"

"I'm not sure, but I think that he may be considering you a rival male, while Shippo is only a child and therefore not a threat." She paused, then raised her voice and said "Shippo, could you come over here for a moment, please?"

Shippo looked over at Sango, then whined at Inuyasha who just grunted back at him, then he got up and trotted over to sit next to Sango and Miroku. "What's wrong, Sango?"

"Well, we're a bit curious about Inuyasha's behavior. He seems to be in complete control of himself, but well, he's acting very odd." She looked over at her friends for a moment, before going on. "Why is he licking her wounds? And why in the world is he letting you near her? He's usually, well, jealous of Kagome's paying any attention to you, and here he is, in full youkai transformation…and he's almost calm. Do you know what's going on?"

Shippo sighed and looked over at where Inuyasha was holding Kagome. "He's licking her injuries because doing that will help them heal faster. As for why he let's me be close, why shouldn't he? She's my mother and I'm just a pup, he told me I could stay close as long as I didn't get in the way…"

"Wait a minute," interrupted Miroku. "He told you this? When? I didn't think he could talk anymore when he's transformed."

Shippo looked back to Miroku and said, "Just now, when I tried to see how Kagome was doing. I don't know if he can't speak or just chooses not to, but he spoke using the instinctive youkai mode."

"Youkai mode? What's that," asked Sango?

Shippo took a step towards Inuyasha and Kagome, but answered anyways, "I'm kitsune, and I was born knowing how to speak and understand that way. I guess you could say I can speak 'kitsune' but it's really close to 'inu' and 'ookami', so I can understand them, too." He looked back and went on, "He told me to be careful and not hurt her, but that I could stay with her while he helped her. Look, I want to go back to Okaa-san, can the rest of these questions wait until later?"

Sango nodded to him, but said, "Just explain why he's licking her wounds, and then you can go."

Shippo started to answer, but Myoga interrupted and said, "Shippo, go back to your mother, I'll answer the rest of their questions"

"Thanks!" Shippo said as he ran back to Kagome's side.

"Well, Myoga? Explain." Miroku said, "And when did you get back?" Sango elbowed Miroku sharply at his question, and shook her head at him.

Myoga cleared his throat and said, "Lord Inuyasha is treating Lady Kagome's wounds in this manner because," he looked over at Inuyasha, who had finished with all of Kagome's wounds and was now covering her in his haori, "Inu youkai have the ability to heal wounds with their saliva. It prevents or cures almost any infection that the wound might develop and passes on, at least partially, that youkai's healing ability. Lord Inuyasha's healing ability is exceptional, probably the strongest and fastest that I've ever seen, and he is sharing that ability with Lady Kagome."

"I see," said the monk. "I'm surprised that Inuyasha never mentioned this before, there have been times when that could have been useful."

Myoga shook his little head. "I do not believe that Lord Inuyasha ever knew about this. While transformed, he is operating primarily from instinct, not intellect, and his instincts are no doubt telling him how to care for Lady Kagome."

Sango nodded her understanding and asked, "So, now that he's done with that, should we try to get Tetsusaiga back to him, or wait and see if he reverts on his own?"

"I don't know if he'll revert without Tetsusaiga, which is what the sword does, seal his youkai blood so that he doesn't transform. I think it would be best if you returned his sword to him, Lady Sango. Lord Miroku would undoubtedly be seen as a rival male if he tried to approach with Tetsusaiga, and Lord Inuyasha would attack."

Miroku sighed and said, "In that case, Lady Sango if you wouldn't mind? Please return Tetsusaiga to its master."

Sango stood up and walked over to where Tetsusaiga was laying on the ground and picked it up. When she turned to bring it to Inuyasha, she saw that he was watching her even as he continued to hold Kagome close to him. Taking a deep breath, she reversed the sword and walked towards her friend, holding the hilt out to him.

Inuyasha looked at the sword, than turned his scarlet eyes up to hers for a minute, before finally reaching up to take the hilt firmly in his hand. As soon as he was holding Tetsusaiga, the scarlet bled out of his eyes, his fangs and claws retracted, and the stripes on his cheeks faded away. He looked down at the girl in his arms and said "Oh, damn! What happened? Did I transform again!" He looked around at the obvious signs of battle, with dismembered demons and dead birds scattered all over the forest floor. Looking back up at Sango, he asked "Is everyone okay? I mean, except for Kagome." As he spoke he was gently stroking her hair and looking at her injuries and frowning as he saw the extent and severity of them.

Sango shook her head and knelt down next to him. "No, the rest of us seem to have come through this attack relatively unscathed. Only Lady Kagome suffered any significant injuries, and you seem to have at least stopped the bleeding of those."

"I have? How did I do that?" he asked, again checking out Kagome's injuries.

Myoga hopped up on to Inuyasha's shoulder and spoke up, "Lord Inuyasha, you used the natural ability of all Inu Youkai to share their healing powers, this stopped Lady Kagome's bleeding and will help the wounds to heal quickly."

"I shared my healing powers? How did I…?" Shaking his head, he went on, "Never mind. How quickly will they heal, Myoga?" he asked the little flea. "She'll be okay, right?"

"My lord, I simply do not know. She should heal faster than a normal human, but these wounds were inflicted by demonic birds of a type that I have never seen before. They may have some poison or toxin that will slow down the healing. In any event, her injuries will still need to be bandaged properly, and she should get as much rest as she can."

Miroku came up to where Inuyasha sat holding Kagome in his lap, "Inuyasha, I have Lady Kagome's first aid kit, allow me to bandage her wounds so that she can get some rest."

Inuyasha's lips curled back into a silent snarl as he looked at the monk. "I don't think so, bouzo. Give me the kit, I'll do it myself."

Miroku sighed and said, "I'm so misunderstood; I only wish to help Lady Kagome in her time of need, just as any follower of Buddha…"

"GRRRR!"

"Houshi-sama, please give me the first aid kit. I will aid Inuyasha with Kagome's wounds. Why don't you have Shippo help you fix some food. I think we could all use something to eat." Sango spoke up, hoping to distract Inuyasha from Miroku's 'offer' of aid.

Miroku sighed again, but handed over the first aid kit and went over to Kagome's backpack and started pulling out food to make a quick lunch. Shippo stayed next to Kagome until Inuyasha barked at him softly, at which he jumped and ran over to help Miroku.

Inuyasha and Sango quickly covered her many injuries with the contents of her first aid kit, glad that Kagome was still unaware of everything that was going on. Sango was careful to protect Kagome's modesty as much as was possible; although Inuyasha made it quite easy by continuing to hold her from behind while Sango wrapped the bandages around her torso, arms and legs. As she covered the slashes on Kagome's face, she hid a wince of sympathy as she thought about the scarring that was almost certain to mar her smooth skin.

Once all of her injuries had been covered, Inuyasha carefully stood up and carried Kagome over to where her sleeping bag was spread out on the ground. Very gently, he laid her down and covered her up before sitting down next to her. While Miroku and Shippo served a simple cold lunch of bread and smoked sausages, Inuyasha sat and watched Kagome while gently stroking her hair. Looking up at Sango, he asked, "Can you tell me what happened? While I was…you know, transformed?"

Sango nodded and explained how the birds were all calling out 'SIT' in what sounded just like Kagome's voice, while the two fire youkai attacked. She hesitated a moment before she told him about Naraku's puppet, but she filled him in on all the details, answering his questions as fully as she could. While she was talking, Inuyasha ate the food he was handed, without paying any attention to what he was putting in his mouth. When she had finished with her explanations, Inuyasha nodded to her and said, "Alright, I think we should all get back to Kaede's as fast as possible. I'll take Kagome, while you follow with everyone else on Kirara; don't try to keep up with me, just get back as soon as you can without exhausting her."

Sango looked down at Kagome's still form for a moment before replying. "If you're sure you can carry her gently enough, then fine. We'll follow on Kirara when everyone is done eating."

Inuyasha nodded and carefully zipped Kagome's sleeping bag up around her sleeping body, then picked her up in his arms. He looked around at his friends and said, "I'll see you all at Kaede's. Take care." With that he began running slowing through the forest, picking up speed carefully and be sure to keep Kagome as still as possible. Within a few minutes, he leapt into the treetops and picked up speed until he was only a red blur streaking across the roof of the forest.

A few minutes after Inuyasha had left with Kagome, the rest of the pack was on the way, traveling at Kirara's best speed to meet up at Kaede's village.

Shortly before sunset, Inuyasha reached the outskirts of Kaede's village. Dropping out of the trees, he slowed to a brisk walk as he headed for Kaede's hut.

As he walked through the village, many of the inhabitants stopped and watched the hanyou carry the young miko in his arms, gasping as they saw the bandages covering every visible part of her.

"Where's Kaede?" he demanded of one of the village elders who had stopped to watch the hanyou's progress.

"She…she went to gather some herbs in the forest." He looked at the sun for a moment and said, "She should be back by now, or at least on her way."

"Alright, I'm taking Kagome to her hut. If she's not back yet, send some people out to fetch her. Kagome's got some bad injuries and I want Kaede to take a look at her." Saying that, Inuyasha walked away towards Kaede's hut.

The old man shook his head and called three of the younger men over to send them out looking for the high priestess. Once they had left to search for Kaede, he went to the find the village headman to inform him of what had happened.

Fortunately for Inuyasha's temper, Kaede was just returning with a large basket of fresh herbs when Inuyasha burst into her hut bearing Kagome's limp body.

"Baba! Kagome's hurt bad, give me a hand here!" As he spoke, he was gently laying Kagome down in the spot she normally slept.

Kaede set her basket down and knelt down next to Kagome. "What happened to her, Inuyasha? What could have caused her such injuries?" As she was speaking to him, she was gently opening the sleeping bag and assessing the girl's injuries. Without a word, Inuyasha lifted Kagome up so that Kaede could inspect the injuries on her back.

"This is not good. None of these are life threatening, but there are so many of them." Shaking her head, Kaede gestured for Inuyasha to lay Kagome on her stomach, and when she was settled she began to remove the bandages completely.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, trying not to raise his voice enough to wake Kagome, but obviously very worried. "The bleeding's stopped…"

"Inuyasha. Some of these are too deep to be left merely bandaged. I must stitch them closed, and then cover them with a healing poultice. If I do not, she will certainly scar, and may be lamed for life. The muscles are torn and separated; they must be straightened and reconnected, lest they heal improperly." As she spoke, she rose and fetched a basket of sewing supplies and her chest of prepared poultices and potions.

Inuyasha swallowed and nodded his understanding, but when she began stitching the largest wound closed, he had to clench his fists closed until his claws pierced his palms and the blood dripped onto the floor, to keep from attacking the old miko. Finally, Kaede finished stitching the three worst slashes closed, smeared a healing poultice over them, and gently re-bandaged them.

Putting away her supplies, Kaede at last spoke to Inuyasha. "I can do nothing more for her. She needs to sleep and let her body heal the rest. I'll try to feed her some broth in the morning, but for now she needs sleep more than anything else." She placed her hand on Kagome's brow, but was pleased to feel no signs of a fever. Yet.

Covering her up with her sleeping bag, she turned to Inuyasha and said, "Now, lad. Let me see those hands of yours."

"What?" He said, puzzled by her comment. Looking down at his blood-covered hands, he shrugged and said, "Don't worry about it. They'll be fine in a few minutes." As he finished speaking he began licking the excess blood off of his hands, removing all traces of his injuries even as he removed the blood.

"See? I'll be fine, it's Kagome I'm worried about." He shook his head, even as he kept looking back at her. "She keeps doing stuff like this, and I—I didn't protect her." He closed his eyes and smashed his fists into his thighs. "Damn it, **_Damn it_**, **_DAMN IT_**!" He cursed quietly. "It's my responsibility to protect her, and look what happened. **_Again!_**"

"Again, Inuyasha? What do you mean: Again?" She looked at him sternly, "Has something like this happened to Kagome before?"

"Yeah. When we thought we had destroyed Naraku before, you know when the moon stayed full; that was when Princess Kaguya tried to stop time. Kagome, she…she jumped in front of an arrow that was meant for me." He closed his eyes to hide the shine of tears. "Damn it, she said…she said it was 'no big deal'." His voice shook as he whispered, "She almost died. She almost died…**_for me!_** And now she's done it again."

He moved away from Kaede and knelt down next to Kagome. Slowly stroking her midnight hair, he whispered, "You need to get better Kagome. For Shippo, for everyone. **_I_** need you to get better." Falling silent, he continued to kneel there, stroking her hair and watching her as she slowly breathed.

Just before sunset, the others finally arrived, pleased that Kagome was here, and apparently sleeping peacefully. Shippo crept over to Kagome's side, and snuggled into a small nest next to her head after Inuyasha had nodded his permission to the little kitsune's silent plea. The others ate a quick, silent meal and settled in for the night after Kaede had given them a short update on Kagome's condition.

Author's Note: To answer a couple of questions: **_C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only:_** Sango and Miroku are still very much a part of the story, just be patient. **_Oblivionknight7:_** She has a lot of things in those pouches. This time it was poison. Sango used a burning poison to drive some rat-youkai out from under a house once. That was when Miroku fought the Mantis-youkai that had stolen the shape of a beautiful woman (I guess Miroku just can't resist). She also used poison to drive Kageramaru out of the ground where he was hiding and to slow him down. I can't remember exactly which manga volumes they were in, but I think it was #11 and #18. **_ TriGemini:_** Thanks. I truly enjoyed watching Kagome put Koga in his place. All else aside, **NO MEANS NO!**


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